Preview: Point Pleasant Big Blacks vs. Riverside Warriors
The Point Pleasant Big Blacks will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the Riverside Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Point Pleasant focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 27 last Tuesday.
Even though Point Pleasant has not done well against Ripley recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way. Point Pleasant walked away with a 61-54 win over Ripley. The victory was all the more spectacular given Point Pleasant's disadvantage in MaxPreps' West Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 462nd, while Ripley is ranked 65th).
Josh Chapman was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 20 points and 12 rebounds. Those 20 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Trevon McMillan, who scored 15 points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, Riverside came up short against Sissonville on Saturday and fell 55-48.
Point Pleasant's win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-2. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.8 points per game. As for Riverside, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-4.
Point Pleasant skirted past Riverside 56-54 when the teams last played back in December of 2022. The rematch might be a little tougher for Point Pleasant since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
