POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — Visiting Ripley shot 44 percent from the field and limited Point Pleasant to just 19 points over the final three quarters Tuesday night en route to a 47-37 decision in a non-conference boys basketball game in Mason County.

The host Big Blacks (0-3) fell behind 3-0 in the opening moments of the contest, but rallied with 11 consecutive points to claim an 11-3 advantage with 4:11 left in the first quarter. The Vikings (1-0), however, responded with an 11-7 run to close out the period with an 18-14 deficit.

RHS started the second canto with a 4-0 spurt to knot the game up at 18-all with 4:55 remaining, but Point Pleasant responded with a 4-0 run of its own to claim a 22-18 edge with 2:58 left until halftime. Ripley closed the final 2:45 of the first half with an 8-0 surge, allowing the guests to take a 26-22 advantage into the intermission.

PPHS was never closer than three points the rest of the way, and the hosts ended a 4:55 scoreless drought at the 6:02 mark of the third canto after Marquez Griffin sank a free throw to pull Point back to within two possessions at 29-23. The Vikings, however, finished off the third period on a small 8-7 spurt to take a 37-30 cushion into the finale.

Dillon McCarty capped a 6-2 run by the Big Blacks with a trifecta at the 2:21 mark, which allowed the hosts to pull within a single possession at 39-36. Ripley responded with four straight points and closed regulation with an 8-1 run to wrap up the 10-point decision — the largest lead for either squad all night long.

Through three games, the Big Blacks are averaging just 46.3 points offensively. That is something that PPHS coach Josh Williams acknowledged after the game, admitting that everyone — including himself — needs to improve on in the upcoming weeks.

“We have to get better on the offensive end of the floor. We have to be more consistent,” Williams said. “We all — including myself — have to get better as a team at finding mismatches and developing a rhythm on the offensive end. We need to work with our strengths and put ourselves in better situations to score than what we have done in the first three games.”

The Big Blacks connected on 14-of-41 field goal attempts for 34 percent, including a 3-of-17 effort from three-point range for 18 percent. The hosts were outrebounded by a 30-28 overall margin, but did claim an 8-4 edge on the offensive glass.

McCarty led the hosts with 12 points, followed by Griffin with seven markers. Garrett Norris, Andrew Williamson and Wade Martin each contributed five points to the losing effort, while Aden Yates rounded out the scoring with three markers.

PPHS was 6-of-14 at the free throw line for 43 percent. Martin led the hosts with six rebounds and four steals.

Ripley connected on 18-of-41 shot attempts overall, including a 4-of-11 effort from three-point territory for 36 percent. Both teams had 19 turnovers in the contest.

Casey Smith paced the Vikings with a game-high 19 points, followed by Kade Harrison with 10 points and Chuck Sieboda with eight markers. Jacob Haynes and Drew Harpold respectively rounded out the winning total with seven points and three markers.

RHS was 7-of-11 at the charity stripe for 64 percent. Harrison hauled in a game-high eight boards and Haynes added three steals for the victors.