T-L Photo/KIM NORTH LEVI CROZIER, left, and younger sister, Maci, recently became the first brother-sister 1,000-point scorers at Bellaire High School.

BELLAIRE — Bellaire High School has a very strong basketball tradition — both male and female. Twenty-eight Big Reds have eclipsed the coveted 1,000-point milestone.

When Maci Crozier reached that mark earlier in this her senior season, she not only joined older brother, Levi, in the elite group, but the tandem completed a full cycle of high-scoring siblings.

The Croziers became the first brother-sister duo to surpass the 1,000-point mark in BHS history. They join the Davis Brothers — Jose and Nate — and the Vavrek Sisters — Kacie and Ashley in that rare air.

“It’s a real honor. It’s a honor just knowing that every time in the future when we walk into the gymnasium our basketballs will be there (in the trophy case) forever, and we’ll be able to see our name,” Levi said.

“To be the first brother and sister combination to score 1,000 points each at Bellaire is a tremendous honor.

“I just think it’s really cool. I always hear of a sister reaching the milestone with her sister or a brother doing the same, but for a brother and sister combination to do it make is a little more unique. It’s an honor.”

“It’s a good achievement to score 1,000 points and reach that milestone. To be able to do it with my brother is outstanding,” Maci acknowledged.

Maci recently took over the Crozier Family scoring title when she went past Levi’s 1,034. Including Thursday night’s victory over Ohio 7 rival Shadyside, she has 1,083, which is good for ninth and 17 from passing Debbie Blazek (1,099 from 1988-91), and counting. Crozier could get into seventh before her career ends as Connie Hibbitts (1,121 from 1978-81) is seventh.

“That was tough … tough, but I wouldn’t want it any other way,” he said of being second on that family list.

Nate Davis is the school’s all-time leading scorer with an astonishing 2,562 markers from 2003-06, while Jose knocked down 1,457 from 1993-96 to rank fourth all-time. Ashley Vavrek’s 2,036 from 2003-06 tops the female list. Kacie is next with 1,631 from 1999-2002.

Levi knew Maci had the ability to join him in the 1,000-point club.

“I could tell that when she started as a freshman she had the opportunity if she stayed on track,” he said. “The closer it got to her senior year the more realistic it got. I’m really happy for her.”

The 2010 BHS graduate reached his milestone in a game at Wheeling Central.

“Honestly, it never really hit me until after I was done with basketball,” he admitted. “I knew it was an accomplishment, but like I said before, being able to walk into the gym and see my basketball there … it really hit me after graduating.”

For Maci, scoring 1,000 points wasn’t a goal of hers at first.

“It wasn’t a No. 1 goal, but once I got closer and closer I knew it was achievable,” she said. “It felt good. The pressure was off my back.”

She scored her 1,000th at home against St. Clairsville.

Maci is a one-sport standout while Levi starred in three sports — football, basketball and baseball. Did he have a favorite?

“Depending on what season I was in,” he said with a laugh. “I would really go back and forth between basketball and baseball.

Both credit work at home with their father, Bill, along with several others for their success on the court.

“Basketball is the No. 1 sport for me. I started playing at about 3 years old,” Maci recalled. “I got my start at Saturday Mornings with Coach A. (legendary BHS coach Gene Ammirante). That’s where I learned the fundamentals of the game. Coach Farrier and Coach Hutch have really helped me. I’ve had both of them as coaches since the 8th grade.”

“I went through that program as well, but I would credit much of my success to the outdoor courts behind Dairy Queen,” Levi noted. “Growing up and playing with all of the older guys. It felt good that they let me play with them. I learned a lot of my skills there.

“John Stanko deserves a lot of credit for my development,” Levi added. “It seemed to me that he was playing chess and everyone else was playing checkers. That’s the way he broke the game down.”

While Maci and her teammates are seeking that elusive OVAC Class 3A championship this season, Levi continues to teach and coach at Bedford High School in suburban Cleveland.

In 2017 he was selected the Greater Cleveland Baseball Coaches Association Coach of the Year after his squad won the Lake Erie Conference for the first time in 52 years.

“They had a plastic basketball in their hands before they could walk,” their father said. “I played at Shadyside. We’re like a basketball family. That’s what we like to do. We still play in our driveway.

“I’m proud of them. I think they’ve done well.”

One interesting aspect of the pair scoring 1,000 points each is that neither relied upon the three-point line. Levi was more of a slasher and inside player, while Maci has a nice mid-range jumper.

“Zero-for-zero. I’ve never taken one,” Maci confessed.

“We prided ourselves in taking high percentage shots,” Levi noted.

Another interesting fact is that Levi is only one of six players to score 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds. One of the other’s is Chase Yoho, a freshman cager at Muskingum University, who happens to be Maci’s boyfriend.

What a small world we live in.

The family is completed by mother, Tami, and sister, Cari, who scored more than 800 points during her 4-year career.