Girard’s Thomas Cardiero tallies 1,000th career point in 48-32 win over McDonald
Trending
GIRARD -- Hitting a career milestone always brings remarkable feelings. Despite a nagging injury, Girard's Thomas Cardiero knew that if he was going to hit 1,000 career points, it was going to be on his own floor.
In front of a packed gymnasium Tuesday evening, the senior guard put on a scoring display from the starting gun, knowing that he only needed seven to hit the mark. A quick layup, a jumper, then a trey from the left side of the arc.
Within the first three minutes, he asserted himself into the Girard record books. It was the highlight of the Indians' 48-32 rout of McDonald.
"It's great, I love that feeling," he said about making his mark at home. "All of the people that have supported me these past few years, to do it in front of the home crowd, on the home floor, it's a special moment and I'll never forget it.
"Getting it out of the way, getting me to rest for our upcoming games, we still have a whole season left to play, but it was definitely getting it done, getting it out of the way. It's done now. I was looking over, (coach Craig Hannon) called a play to get me a three, and as soon as I got it, I knew that shot was going to get me that 1,000th point."
The contest was paused to honor the Indians senior, with recognition to other members of the 1,000 club in attendance over the public address system, including athletic director Nick Cochran.
"I've been wearing a Girard uniform my whole entire life, coach Hannon came up to me and said I'm the fifth guy to do this in my school's history, to do it in a Girard jersey just feels special. I always kinda thought about it, I never really given it too much thought, like oh, there's that milestone, maybe I'll get it one day, to just get to this moment now, it almost feels surreal."
Hannon had a mile-wide smile following the contest, seeing the growth and development Cardiero has made over the years.
"More proud that he's just an A-plus kid, he's just the best kind of a kid you can have. Top-notch human being, leader in the school, someone you want your kid to grow up and be," Hannon said. "The 1,000 points is a bonus for all that hard work he puts in the offseason, those hours you don't see, he does all of those good things. Just proud he's able to represent that jersey, he represents it as good as anyone has ever represented it."
Down 17-7 after the first, McDonald (2-5) looked to play spoiler on a historic evening, as Wyatt Wolford hit a few quick shots to begin closing the gap, all while the Blue Devils kept Girard (7-1) off the board until senior Bobby Alejars nailed a three with just over three minutes to go until the intermission.
Holding on at 24-17 heading into the second half, Gus Johnson knew that he needed to step up and find that next level, after throwing down an emphatic dunk earlier in the night.
A three to start the third quarter gave him just that spark.
"We came into the locker room and (Hannon) said they came a little bit back, he said you guys got to go out and start it out early because the first team that starts out in the third quarter will end up winning the game," said Johnson. "I came out and hit the three and just knew that we would start rolling from there."
Johnson finished with 20 points and had to take the lead for Girard with Cardiero nursing an injury -- he sat out the rest of the contest following his 1,000th point.
As excited as Johnson was about his performance, he was more enthusiastic for his teammate.
"I'm so happy for him, he's worked all offseason, and he's just been a great player," said Johnson. "It's a really big accomplishment for him, and being with him my whole life, I'm so happy to see him succeed like that."
Alejars tallied 11 and Jordan Johnson and Thomas Cardiero added seven. McDonald was led by senior Greg Costantino, who paced his team with 15, including four three-pointers. Freshman Joey Cappuzzello followed behind with seven.
Knowing how skilled Girard is, Blue Devils coach Jimmy Franceschelli knew that his team had a battle on their plate.
"Our guys are playing hard, they're really grinding. We're getting better every day, we just need to be able to score more than 32 points. If we can start to get the ball into the hole a little bit more here, things will change for us," said Franceschelli. "Gus is a phenomenal athlete, and Craig does an unbelievable job getting them prepared, to be in the game was great for us, but we need to capitalize on some situations there, but nothing but the best to them, they're a solid team."