Nobody ever scored more points on a basketball court for New Bedford Tech than James Gardner. During his four-year career, Gardner played in a total of 94 games, averaging 22 points per game and finishing with 2,069 career points. That figure puts him atop the all-time career scoring list in New Bedford Tech history and leaves him second only to another Hall of Fame inductee for 1996, Val Sender (2,201 pts), in UMass Dartmouth history. Gardner is also tied for first place with Steve Haynes for the all-time career scoring average (22 pts) as well. He was named to the Seafood Classic All-Tournament Team for three consecutive season from 1963 through 1965.