Butte Central senior Dougie Peoples is on the verge of history.

With 23 more points, Peoples will become the highest scoring boys’ basketball player in Mining City history.

Peoples has scored 1,369 points on his career. Butte Central legend “Jumpin’” Joe Kelly scored 1,404 points from 1942 through 1945.

With his 23 points in Tuesday’s 76-47 win over Butte High at the Butte Civic Center, Peoples passed former Maroon Joe Devich for second place on the Butte boys’ all-time list (Butte Central and Butte High). Devich scored 1,364 points from 1947 through 1950.

Peoples scored 629 points in last year’s run to the Class A State championship. He scored 438 points as a sophomore. He has 315 this season. 

While Peoples was on the BC roster during the 2020 State tournament in Billings, he did not score a varsity point as a freshman.

Two girls — Butte High’s Lexie Nelson and BC’s Kellie Johnson-Mead — have scored more points than Kelly and Peoples. Nelson scored 1,696 from 2007 through 2010, while Johnson-Mead tossed in 1,530 points from 1993 through 1996).

According to stats compiled by the late Pat Kearney, John Dawson (1966-68) is the all-time leading scorer for Butte High’s boys with 1,022 points.

The Maroon boys play a Southwestern A tilt with the Broncs Friday in Frenchtown. They will play host to Livingston in a non-conference game Saturday at the Maroon Activities Center.

The 12-1 Maroons have won 12 straight since dropping their season opener to Lewistown in a rematch of last March’s title game.

Before the season, Peoples made an appearance on the ButteCast with Bill Foley. Click here to listen.