Josh Perkins humbly surpasses 1,000 points in his Gonzaga career

Josh Perkins needed just two more points to take his college career to another level.

The junior guard drew a desperate foul from the San Francisco Dons and was sent to the line with 30 seconds left in the game. In two quick flips of his wrist, Perkins buried both shots to give Gonzaga a comfortable seven-point lead before the Zags downed the Dons 82-73 on Saturday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

The two free throws helped Perkins reach 1,000 career points.

It’s a significant number to reach in any player’s career, but who’s really counting? Apparently, not Perkins.

“I didn’t (know),” he said after the game when he was told he hit the mark.

But a few minutes later his teammates let slip that his milestone wasn’t something even Perkins could play off as unimportant. According to Silas Melson, Perkins knew he had to put up just nine points on Saturday to reach 1,000. He was counting his buckets all the way to the final 30 seconds of the game.

“I didn’t even know until he told me with a minute left,” Melson said. “He was like, ‘I’m about to crack a 1,000.’ ”

Perkins immediately shot a look at Melson and laughed to himself. He was humble about his milestone in front of reporters, but breaking 1,000 points is certainly nothing he or any of his teammates could shrug at.

“I am proud of him, 1,000 points for anybody is big time,” Melson said. “He’s only played three years. That’s pretty impressive.”

Perkins finished the night with 11 points on 3-for-10 shooting and he hit all four of his free throws.

After hitting 1,000, Perkins was sent to the line one more time with 21 seconds left. He hit both shots, giving him a career total of 1,002 points.

Perkins has hit a few other milestones this season, including the 100-mark in steals and the 400-mark in assists, which he broke against Portland on Thursday when he dished out three assists. On Saturday, Perkins added four more feeds to increase his career assists total to 405.

He is the second Zag to reach 1,000 career points this season. Forward Johnathan Williams surpassed the mark on Nov. 14 when Gonzaga toppled Howard 106-69.

Perkins pointed to his teammates for helping him to 1,000-plus points.

“These guys in the locker room make me look good,” Perkins said. “It’s their accomplishment, too.”