It’s rare that a player scores 1,000 points for their career. At Bulloch Academy Tuesday night junior Abby Newton was recognized for scoring her 1,000 point - which happened Saturday at Westfield - and then in the boys game Don Aaron hit his 1,000 point in the last few minutes of the Gators 55-36 win over Hilton Head Christian.
Aaron entered Tuesday’s game needing 24 points to reach 1,000. Aaron averages close to 13 points per game, so a 24 point effort would be a little unusual, but Bulloch Academy coach Chance Cofield and the players made an effort to try and help Aaron reach the goal at home.
“He’s been a big part of this program since he was in the eighth grade,’ Cofield said. “I’m so happy he was able to get that at home on senior night. It was very special, and all of his teammates knew about it, so toward the end of the game they were really encouraging him to shoot.”
Aaron becomes the second Gator player to go over 1,000 points this year, as teammate Pierless Brown did it earlier this season.
“I knew where I was in terms of career points, but I didn’t want it to interfere with us winning the game,” Aaron said. “When Pierless was coming up on 1,000 we tried to make sure he got the ball, and it was nice that my teammates were trying to get me the ball and encouraging me to shoot.”
Aaron had only six points in the first half and things looked doubtful until late in the third when he would score eight straight points. With just over four minutes left in the game Aaron connected on a driving layup and was fouled. After sinking the free throw he was just two points away, and then after missing a layup Aaron took a pass from Pierless Brown and was wide open for a corner three pointer which hit nothing but net.
“It was great to be able to do this at home,” Aaron said. “The crowd was pretty loud so I knew I was close, and to have my family here was very special.”
The game itself was pretty anticlimactic. The Gators maintained a pretty comfortable lead throughout, leading 15-9 at the end of the first quarter, and extending the lead to 29-18 at the half.
“We started off a little slow, and gave up some easy baskets,” Cofield said. “We didn't do a good job boxing out, but other than that we played solid, particularly in the second half.”
The Gators turned up the defensive intensity in the second half, and started to pull away. Aaron actually outscored Hilton Head in the second half, as he had 19 points, while Hilton Head Christian would manage only 18 total points in the second half.
“It was great to end our home regular season with a win on senior night,” Cofield said. These guys have meant a lot to this program. It’s good to have six of them as their experience should be able to help us in the postseason.
The Gators improve to 18-3 overall and remain 5-1 in region play. Aaron led the Gators in scoring with 25 points. John Blackshear led the Eagles with 11 points.
Lady Eagles 50, Lady Gators 41
Junior Abby Newton was recognized for her 1,000 career point prior to the Gators matchup with Hilton Head Christian, unfortunately that would be the only real bright spot for the Gators as they dropped their fifth straight game, falling to Hilton Head Christian 50-41.
The Gators actually gave the Eagles a better game on the road, as earlier this month they lost in overtime at Hilton Head Christian 41-37.
This time around things started off pretty good for the Gators. Abby Newton would hit a three pointer late in the first to give the Gators a 10-8 lead. The Eagles would come back, but the game was tied 12-12 at the end of the first.
In the second the Eagles started to pull away, but the Gators fought back. A three pointer by Brielle McCarthy extended the Hilton Head lead to 19-13, but off a Gator steal Regan Ellis would hit a layup to get Bulloch Academy within three at 19-16.
From there everything fell apart for Bulloch Academy. Turnovers, missed shots, and poor defense led to Hilton Head closing the half on a 13-0 run, as they took a 32-16 halftime lead.
The second half was much more of the same. The Eagles went on to build a 48-25 lead, and despite scoring only two points the entire fourth quarter Hilton Head was able to cruise to the nine point victory.
Ellis led the Gators with 10 points. Jasmine Campbell led the Eagles with 13 points.
The loss drops the Lady Gators to 11-9 overall. Up next, Bulloch Academy travels to Fredrica for their regular season finale Friday night at 5:30.
