WATERVILLE — It’s a mark most don’t reach until their high school playing days are nearly done. Harry Louis and Fisher Tewksbury of the Valley boys basketball team did it much earlier — and did it not even a half-hour apart.

There’s much basketball ahead for the two sophomores, who have been starting for Valley since eighth grade. Yet the two’s names have been inseparable for the Cavaliers, leaving a bond that made history Friday as both reached the 1,000-point mark in a 73-35 victory over Islesboro at Thomas College.

“We didn’t really expect it to come this early, but it did,” Tewksbury said. “We were just focused on trying to win and do our jobs, but once we saw that opportunity, we took it. Knowing we did it together, it feels good.”

Both players scored 18 points in the win. Louis, needing 11 points to reach 1,000, reached it with 31.1 seconds left in the first half, while Tewksbury, needing 15, got his with 5:45 left in the third quarter. They are believed to be only the second set of teammates in Maine history to achieve the feat in the same game.

Tewksbury was the first of the two to score for Valley (13-4), reaching 987 points on a layup midway through the first quarter to put the Cavaliers up 9-3. With Valley up 10-7 with a minute and a half to play in the first, Louis ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to give the team a 10-point lead entering the second.

“At first, I was trying to get our team up to win the game and then do what I had to do after that,” Louis said. “I was hoping I’d be able to get going a little bit there (toward the end of the first quarter) and make some plays, and I did that.”

Valley’s Harry Louis dribbles the ball during a Class D South game against Islesboro on Friday at Thomas College in Waterville. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Although Louis climbed to 998 points with six and a half minutes left in the half, it was Tewksbury who owned the second quarter as he scored eight to get to 995. Late in the period, though, Louis found nothing but space in front of him and coasted to an easy layup to hit 1,000 with 31.1 seconds left.

It would be Tewksbury’s turn in the second half, and with Valley sporting a 39-13 lead coming out the break, the Cavaliers were more than happy to run the offense through him. Tewksbury got to 997 on a jump shot 40 seconds in, and 30 seconds later, he was fouled on a floater to get to 999 to go to the line with a shot at 1,000.

But Tewksbury wanted nothing to do with reaching the milestone on a foul shot. He intentionally blasted the free throw off the backboard, allowing Islesboro to grab the ensuing rebound. On Valley’s next possession, he got it from the field as he hit another jumper to put the Cavaliers up 45-17 with 5:45 left in the third.

“I did (miss it on purpose), yeah,” Tewksbury said. “I wanted to get it on a dunk or a 3-pointer, but it came down to a jumper fadeaway, and I was open and knew I could hit it. … It feels great to do it with Harry; he’s like a brother to me, and for us both to do it together, it just adds to that brother bond.”

The other instance of two players reaching 1,000 in the same game, according to Frank Spanky’s The History of Maine Basketball archives, came in 1987 as Chris Mooers and Tony Quint achieved the feat for Hodgdon. Matt Oliver also scored his 2,000th point for the Hawks in that game.

Valley’s Fisher Tewksbury (22) takes a shot during a Class D South game against Islesboro on Friday at Thomas College in Waterville. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Not too long ago, it seemed unlikely that the Valley pair would join such exclusive company. Head coach Mike Staples said Louis was roughly 50 points ahead of Tewksbury earlier in the season, but after a few big games by the latter, the gap closed to set the stage for them to do it together.

“Obviously, we didn’t plan it, but it’s amazing how it worked out,” Staples said. “Fisher kept getting closer, and it got to the point where, here we are, and they’re only four points apart. They work hard; they play all summer long, they play on travel teams, and they do our summer program. That’s what it boils down to.”

It’s only the start for Louis and Tewksbury. The two have one regular season game plus the Class D South tournament left this season as well as their junior and senior years still to come. Reaching 2,000, then, isn’t out of the question — but first, there’s something they want along the way.

“It’s a great accomplishment, and it feels good, for sure, but our main goal is definitely to win that Gold Ball,” Louis said. “We have work to do — everyone does — but I think we’re ready to make that run this year.”

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