Boys basketball: Score controversy mires Black River loss to Mapleton

ORANGE TWP. — Whether a tree falling in the forest makes a sound with no one around is up for debate, but whether a point should be awarded when none is scored is not. A mysterious point added to the Mapleton boys basketball team's total in the fourth quarter changed everything Saturday, leading to a 76-75 non-league loss for Black River. With the Pirates (0-2) holding a 71-68 lead and fewer than two minutes to play, the mystery point popped up on the scoreboard, making it 71-69. The officials met after the Black River bench protested. After a discussion between the scorers and officials, the point remained after an explanation of fixing a previous error was given. That was in reference to 3:37 remaining, the Pirates ahead 67-63 and Mounties forward Lane Dreibelbis at the foul line. Dreibelbis made the first attempt and missed the second. Mounties guard Scott Hickey (32 points) grabbed the rebound and scored a two-point bucket to pull Mapleton to within 67-66. The basket was incorrectly marked for three points on the running score section on the scorebook to give Mapleton 67. After a basket from each team, the score was updated on the board with the ghost point. However, the Mapleton scorebook, which by rule was official, stated the score as 75 points with a quarter-by-quarter total of 11, 20, 21 and 23 and individual totals that added to 75. The score change affected how the stretch played out, as the 75-71 lead Black River held over the Mounties (1-0) with 50 seconds remaining should have been 75-70. Back-to-back Pirates turnovers allowed Mapleton to score five straight points to give them a 76-75 lead with 11 seconds remaining. The Pirates' last gasp ended with a mad scramble under the basket after a lob in from Ridge Martin to Johnny Kray with 0.3 seconds remaining. "A loss is a loss," Kray said. "This loss is going to help us out in the long run. It is going to make us better for the conference. We just need to use this game as a building stone and get better." Without the mystery point, the worst-case scenario was the Pirates with possession and the score tied. Leading up to the wild final minutes, the Pirates were led by Martin and Kray, as well as an incredible fourth quarter from sophomore Zane Bungard. With Black River's Evan Ladina, Blake Hopkins and Bungard fouling out, Martin and Kray took turns carrying the offense. "Our main starters and our main players off the bench got in foul trouble," Martin said. "When we got deep in our bench, they started trapping us and all that. We want to play aggressive, but at the same time when they are calling stuff. We still want to be aggressive, but we can't foul. It is hard to be aggressive when they are calling everything." Martin led the Pirates with a career-high 23 points, highlighted by four 3-pointers and a 9-of-18 performance from the floor. He added five rebounds and a team-high three assists. Kray chipped in 21 points and hit 8-of-11 from the charity stripe, while Bungard scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a steal and score that gave the Pirates a 73-69 lead that should have been 73-68 with 1:30 to play. While the ghost point was a big key, so were the Pirates' 24 turnovers. "We've just got to be more patient with the ball," Martin said. "There were times when I was going too fast for my own pace, and my teammates were doing the same thing. We just have to stop staring down the ball and look for a better pass.". "I think it is inexperience honestly," Kray added. "We haven't been in a lot of game situations like that against good teams. Credit to Mapleton. They capitalized." Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com. Ashland Mapleton 76, Black River 75 BLACK RIVER&emsp;12 20 20 23 — 75 MAPLETON&emsp;11 20 21 24 — 76 Black River — Evan Ladina 4-0-9, Johnny Kray 6-8-21, Lennys Ramirez 0-0-0, Blake Hopkins 2-1-5, Ridge Martin 9-1-23, Jonathan McKean 0-0-0, Aden MacFarlane 3-0-7, Layne Lawhorn 0-0-0, Zane Bungard 5-0-10, Austin Pamer 0-0-0. TOTALS: 29-10-75. Mapleton — Lane Dreibelbis 3-2-11, Kyle Sloter 5-2-14, Donavon Mills 2-1-5, Scott Hickey 12-5-32, Cole Vermilya 0-1-1, Joe Foster 1-4-6, Reese Sowl 1-4-6. TOTALS: 24-16-76 3-point goals — Martin 4, Kray, Ladina, MacFarlane, Hickey 3, Sloter 2, Dreibelbis. Rebounds — Black River 34 (Ramirez 8), Mapleton 33 (Hickey 9). Assists — Black River 5 (Martin 3), Mapleton 9 (Hickey 3). Records — Black River (0-2), Mapleton (1-0). Junior varsity — Black River 56, Mapleton 51 (B: Zyan Griffin 15, Zane Kristophel 14, Bungard 10).