Pisula becomes third player this season to reach 1,000 career points

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Keera Frye in Sports // 0 Comments

The pressure of a single point hung on the shoulders of senior Tommy Pisula Feb, 10 as he walked onto Southmoreland High School’s basketball court with 999 career points to face Charleroi.

“I knew everyone was watching,” said Pisula. “But I also knew that I just needed to try my best and play my game and it would come.”

Shortly into the first quarter, the ref’s fist shot up in the air. Foul.

The packed gym slid forward in their seats eager to see if Tommy would score his 1,000th point. And he did. Pisula became the third basketball player to score their 1,000th career point this basketball season. Fellow senior, Olivia Porter, also made a foul shot to score her 1,000th point at a home game. Pisula’s junior teammate, Brandon Stone, scored his 1,000th point earlier in the season at an away game against Burgettstown.

“It’s special to achieve this in the same year as Brandon,” said Pisula, “because it’s more than an individual accomplishment. It’s a team accomplishment because we couldn’t have done it without our teammates.”

Both Stone and Pisula were able to accomplish scoring 1,000 points in just three years of varsity basketball.

“Tommy is such a great teammate and I was very happy for him,” said Stone. “It’s an even bigger accomplishment for him bouncing back from his knee injury and be able to play the way he has this season.”

Pisula missed his junior season of basketball after tearing his ACL early in his junior football season in a game against Charleroi. Last season, Pisula also missed out on playing with his teammates in the playoffs – something that he will get to do this year.