Rotnei Clarke tries not to think of the record, even as he approaches it by leaps and bounds.

Clarke, a 6-1 guard at Claremore (Okla. ) Verdigris, scored 65 points in the Cardinals’ 109-64 victory against Berryville, Okla., on Tuesday. He scored 43 points in the first half on 9-of-10 three-point shooting.

Clarke has signed to play at Arkansas next season, and he stands a good chance of doing so as Oklahoma’s career scoring leader.

Ty Harman holds the state record with 3, 639 points from 1986-89 at Maud. Clarke has 3, 364 points with two regularseason games remaining.

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Depending on the Cardinals’ playoff success, Verdigris could have between nine and 13 games remaining. Clarke is averaging just fewer than 40 points a game this season.

The Cardinals (18-3 ) are ranked No. 1 in Class 3 A and have reached the state semifinals the past three seasons.

“I look at it as if I’m meant to get it, I’ll get it,” Clarke said. “I believe we are going to get a state championship this year. That’s my main goal. [The record ] is not the first thing that pops in my mind.”

Cardinals Coach Kelly Clarke, Rotnei’s uncle, said his nephew had struggled shooting in Berryville’s gym but didn’t have any problems Tuesday. That was despite Berryville playing a staggered defense that had Clarke almost constantly double-teamed.

Clarke finished 10 of 13 on three-point shots and 10 of 20 from two-point range.

“When he hits a couple consecutive, it gets him off and running,” Kelly Clarke said. “The more he shot, the more confidence he gained. I told him he was stupid for shooting those 2 ’s.”

Rotnei Clarke is generally considered one of the best high school shooters in the country, but even he said Tuesday’s performance was unusual. Clarke said he has had only a handful of games where the baskets came so easily.

“I’ve been in that zone two or three times, and it’s an awesome feeling,” Clarke said. “Whatever I throw up is going in, even if I have three guys in my face. It doesn’t happen every night.”

Even if Clarke keeps up his scoring pace, he also has to hold off Keithon Page of Pawnee. Page, who has signed with Oklahoma State, is about 100 points behind Clarke after scoring 43 points Tuesday.

“Everybody makes it a competition,” Clarke said. “He and I are great friends. It’s not a competition between me and him as much as it is for everyone else.”

Kelly Clarke might have the state’s toughest job, facing criticism for leaving his nephew in games or for taking him out. Rotnei Clarke said his uncle gets grief from Cardinals fans when he takes him out, as he did with about three minutes left against Berryville.

“I’m danged if I do and danged if I don’t,” Kelly Clarke said. “I have taken him out entirely too much when we get up. I’ve never had a kid who deserves it more. He works so hard it’s mind-boggling.

“ He deserves to break that record.”