CENTENARY, Ohio — It was Dillon McCarty’s night and he led his team to victory.
McCarty poured in 26 points for the Big Blacks, surpassing the 1,000 point mark for his career and leading Point Pleasant to a 68-58 victory over host Gallia Academy Tuesday night. McCarty earned his 1,000th point from the free throw line with 2.4 seconds remaining in the first period.
The Blue Devils (4-9) held with PPHS (2-8) early and trailed 12-to-10 at the midway point of the first period. The Big Blacks pulled away with a 13-to-2 spurt to end the opening stanza with a 13 point lead. McCarty led the charge of PPHS with 13 points in the first period.
Gallia Academy rallied back to out score PPHS 20-to-14 in the second period and the Big Blacks held a 39-32 edge at halftime. Seven different Blue Devils scored in the second period.
A 16-to-12 spurt after halftime gave PPHS a double-digit cushion headed into the finale. Gallia Academy was only able to cut into the lead by one point and the Blue Devils tasted defeat for the fourth consecutive game.
“It feels great,” Point Pleasant coach Josh Williams said about getting the victory. “We needed this so bad for confidence and momentum. We just got everybody back and healthy so hopefully this is the start of something.”
The Big Blacks were led by McCarty, who coming into the game needed 12 points to reach 1,000 for his career, with 26 points on the night. McCarty is the fifth Big Black to reach 1,000 points, joining Dale Miller, Jim Tatterson, Elliott Dorsey and Jason Pyles.
“For all the hard work over the summer and for all the people that support me it’s nice,” McCarty said about reaching the 1,000 point mark. “It’s not just for me its nice for the team because it means I’m doing my job and I just want to make God and everybody that supports me proud.”
McCarty places this achievement in the top three of his career.
“It’s a testimony of the hard work that he’s put in,” Williams said of McCarty’s achievement. “He is constantly in the gym, he’s a great player and he will do anything you ask of him. He’s a role model of what you want in a player, in the classroom and out.”
Following McCarty for PPHS was Wade Martin with 22 points. Adam Slack finished with six points, Caleb Riffle notched five, Aden Yates chipped in with four and Alex Somerville added three. Garrett Norns rounded out the PPHS total with two points on the night.
The Big Blacks took found the mark seven times from three-point territory. McCarty drained four treys, while Slack accounted for two and Riffle made one. PPHS was 9-of-12 (75 percent) from the free throw line.
“I lost count how many three’s they hit to start the game,” Gallia Academy coach Tom Moore said. ” They were on fire and we didn’t adjust to that well. They played with a little more energy to start the game than we did but they’re a talented team. Anyone who doesn’t think so hasn’t seen them play but we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Gallia Academy was led by Justin Bailey with 14 points and Jimmy Clagg with 12 points. Cody Call and Wade Jarrell each contributed eight points, while Wes Jarrell had seven. Reid Eastman notched four points, Aaron Jackson added three and Seth Atkins rounded out the GAHS scoring with two points.
Call, Jackson and Wade Jarrell each knocked down a three-pointer for the Blue Devils. GAHS was 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from the charity stripe.
The Big Blacks snapped their second four game losing skid of the year with the victory. Gallia Academy will have its chance at revenge on February 5th when the Blue Devils travel to Point Pleasant.
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