Boys basketball: Black River holds off Open Door rally

SULLIVAN TWP. — The Black River boys basketball team nearly ran Elyria Open Door out of the gym Tuesday, but ended up having to fight off a late run to hold on for a 56-47 non-league win. Little went wrong for the Pirates (4-9) in the first half, as they raced to a 11-3 lead after the first quarter and 24-6 at the half. Great ball security, effective ball movement, some hot shooting and a terrible effort from the field by the Patriots (3-9) helped Black River get off to a tremendous start. The Pirates committed zero first-quarter turnovers and just two in the entire first half. Guard Hunter Varney (6 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) had quite a bit to do with the effective offense from the jump. "We moved the ball and came to the ball," he said. "We were hitting shots and we were being very aggressive." While Varney was directing the offense, fellow freshman Josh Stuart turned in a career-best effort at both ends of the floor with team highs of 17 points and 11 rebounds. "I feel like we just came out with good intensity," the 6-foot Stuart said. "We were prepared and had given up just six points at halftime. It was probably the greatest defense we played all year. I feel like we were just prepared and ready for this game coming into it. "I was just crashing the boards hard tonight. I could have had some more points on some chip shots, but not everything is going to fall. All we have to do is crash the boards. That has been our biggest problem this year." The Pirates held a 35-29 rebounding edge and won the offensive battle 13-9. Zane Kristophel (10 points) did a solid job on the glass as well with five on the offensive end and seven overall. A mix of the Black River defense and abysmal shooting by the Patriots kept Open Door from making a basket from the floor until 7:14 was left in the second quarter. The Patriots were 0-for-12 from the floor in the first quarter and, after a make from Nolan Raack (21 points, 4 rebounds), missed their next 11 shots to go 1-of-23 in the first half. The Black River lead hit its high-water mark with 57 seconds left in the third quarter, 41-16. "Just about everybody is starting to hit shots," Varney said. "Guys are getting more confident shooting the ball." Then things got absolutely wild. Turnovers mounted and shooting hit a big lull, with only Pirate reserve Zyan Griffin doing any scoring. The senior scored all nine of his career-high points over a 3:18 span of the fourth quarter and assisted on a 3-pointer from Stuart. When Griffin's hot streak ended, the Pirates still led 53-30 with 4:05 left. The Patriots then embarked on a 13-0 run over the next 3:05 as Black River made eight turnovers. A free throw make from Varney and two from Parker Broadsword (9 points, 4 rebounds) were all the Pirates could muster in the final 4:05, but it was enough to hold on. Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com. Black River 56, Elyria Open Door 47 OPEN DOOR&emsp;3 3 12 29 — 47 BLACK RIVER&emsp;11 13 17 15 — 56 Open Door — Jonas Pruitt 1-0-2, Nolan Raack 8-4-21, Kenny Castreson 2-2-6, Brayden Bendik 3-0-6, Nate Otero 3-2-8, Zane Patten 0-0-0, Will Giesbrecht 2-0-4. TOTALS: 19-8-47. Black River — Parker Broadsword 3-2-9, Zane Kristophel 3-4-10, Josh Stuart 7-0-17, Hunter Varney 2-1-6, Austin Pamer 1-2-5, Chase English 0-0-0, Zyan Griffin 4-1-9. TOTALS: 20-10-56. 3-point goals — Raack, Stuart 3, Broadsword, Pamer, Varney. Rebounds — Open Door 29 (Otero 7), Black River 35 (Stuart 11). Assists — Open Door 8 (Otero, Pruitt 3), Black River 14 (Varney 5). Records — Open Door (3-9), Black River (4-9). Junior varsity — Black River 52, Open Door 44 (B: Wade Mangan 10).