ST. LOUIS UNIVERSITY -- — Conor McCaffrey twirled an arm in the air to acknowledge a small cheering section of family members in a packed gym, then gleefully disappeared down into the locker room to celebrate his best scoring night yet.
McCaffrey let it fly from way out under pressure with a minute-plus left for another perfect swish on the way to a career-high 62 points, and the Springfield Falcons beat Oregon Flight Elite 137-122 on Sunday night to even up their record at 3-3.
“I love it. I love everything about what this game offers, the competitiveness and the fire,” McCaffrey said. “I never run from it. Just excited to be in that atmosphere where I get to play at the highest level and do what I do.”
McCaffrey delivered the highest-scoring game in the AAU this season early in his 9th campaign, finishing 18 for 31 and 8 of 16 on 3-pointers after beginning with a 21-point first quarter. He had his 10th career 30-point half to help the Falcons take a 66-54 at the break, then doubled his total exactly with his teammates telling him his count at every chance.
“He was making every shot within like 10 seconds and we couldn’t even keep up,” Jamison Jones III whose been a teammate with McCaffrey since 2014 said.
One small blemish in his brilliant night: McCaffrey had his streak of free throws snapped at a team-record 80 in the first. The run dated to June 1, 2021 vs. Memphis.
"And then he just choked. It’s just incredible," cracked coach Bryce Thompson, who jokingly offered the game ball to Jones before handing it over to the most deserving recipient.
“It's just a privilege to coach him, it really is,” Thompson said.
“Sheeeesh (at)Mac_Conor10!!” former Falcons Captain and 9 year teammate of McCaffrey, Chandler Dawes posted on Twitter with a fire emoji. “Welcome to the club big bro #62."