Boys basketball: Buckeye gets sizeable win over Rocky River

YORK TWP. — With an experienced front line that goes 6-foot-8, 6-5, 6-3, the Buckeye boys basketball team could do some pretty "big" things this season if it avoids costly turnovers and buckles down defensively. The Bucks had more good stretches than bad in their season opener Tuesday, especially when it mattered most, and downed Rocky River 69-63 in Cleveland West Conference play. The Pirates (0-2, 0-1), who lost to Medina in their season opener, had some stretches where their pressure really bothered the Bucks (1-0, 1-0), but when Buckeye took care of the ball, it played very well. Junior Turner Dolata, a 6-5 power forward, led the way with 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while explosive junior shooting guard Austin Hyre played under control all night en route to 14 points, three boards and six assists. The Bucks also got 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks from 6-8 sophomore center Nolan Klingbeil, who lettered as a freshman, 10 points, five boards and five assists from 6-3 senior small forward Scott DiMarco, six points, four rebounds and two assists from rugged point guard Travis Avallone and seven points off the bench from junior Derek Snyderburn. Buckeye trailed 49-48 going into the final quarter but outscored Rocky River 21-14 behind six points from Hyre and five from DiMarco. The key stretch came with the Bucks up 63-61 with 1:33 remaining. Buckeye appeared to have made a turnover on a long pass against full-court pressure, but Dolata got away with some contact and was able to recover the ball and save it to a teammate before going out of bounds. That possession ended after 30 seconds with a confident Hyre taking the quintessential no, no, no, good shot, a 22-footer from the left side that put the Bucks up five with 1:03 remaining. Rocky River then missed a 3-pointer and DiMarco essentially put the game away with a pair of free throws with 30.6 seconds on the clock. The Pirates, who got 19 points, four rebounds and four assists from left-handed point guard Daniel Berg and 18 points from southpaw wing Jacob Radcliffe, gave the Bucks plenty of trouble for much of the game. Rocky River, which lost three key players from a team that went 15-10 last season, went to a full-court press early in the first period and closed the quarter on a 12-4 run to take a 21-14 lead. The Pirates, who also got 12 points and six boards from Brandon Nazette, led by as many as eight early in the second period, but Buckeye closed the half with a 7-0 spurt to tie the game at 32. The Bucks, who committed 21 turnovers to Rocky River's 14, got very careless with the basketball to open the third period, allowing the Pirates to go on an 11-2 run over the first 1:50 of the quarter. Buckeye then settled down, avoided turnovers and played some exceptional half-court defense, holding Rocky River to six points over the final 6:10 of the period. Up one going into the fourth, Rocky River's last lead came at 56-55 on a Nazette three with 4:43 to go, but Buckeye again clamped down defensively, took care of the ball and made big shots. After not shooting a free throw over the middle quarters, the Bucks went 9-for-12 in the fourth to finish 12-for-16 for the game. When it didn't throw the ball away and allow easy hoops, Buckeye made 7-of-18 from behind the arc, got the ball inside to Dolata and set up the opportunity for Klingbeil to erase any defensive mistakes — the Bucks were solid when they had an opportunity to set up their man-to-man or 1-3-1 zone — with blocked shots. Buckeye won the battle of the boards 33-19, in part because of its size and in part because the Pirates sometimes didn't have to get defensive rebounds due to the Bucks' turnovers. Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X. Buckeye 69, Rocky River 63 ROCKY RIVER 21 11 17 14 — 63 BUCKEYE 14 18 16 21 — 69 Rocky River — Jeff Maslar 1-0-3, Brandon Nazette 4-1-12, Michael Swallow 3-2-8, Jacob Radcliffe 7-4-18, Daniel Berg 7-2-19, Rowan Kennedy 1-0-3, Jackson Paige 0-0-0, Colin Hunt 0-0-0, Will Blough 0-0-0. TOTALS: 23-9-63. Buckeye — Scott DiMarco 4-2-13, Turner Dolata 8-3-19, Nolan Klingbeil 5-0-10, Austin Hyre 4-3-14, Travis Avallone 1-3-6, Derek Snyderburn 3-1-7, Jacob Snyderburn 0-0-0, Logan Brown 0-0-0. TOTALS: 25-12-69. 3-point goals — Berg 3, Nazette 3, Kennedy, Maslar, DiMarco 3, Hyre 3, Avalllone. Rebounds — Rocky River 19 (Nazette 6), Buckeye 33 (Dolata 9). Assists — Rocky River 11 (Berg, Swallow 4), Buckeye 21 (Hyre 6). Records — Rocky River (0-2, 0-1), Buckeye (1-0, 1-0). Junior varsity — Rocky River 57, Buckeye 52.