Boys basketball: Parker Broadsword's hot hand turns game into Black River rout

RITTMAN — When Parker Broadsword's right hand is hot, feed him the rock and get out of the way. Once an All-Ohio guard at Manchester, first-year Black River boys basketball coach Kyle Dack knows this, and Broadsword kept getting his number called Saturday as the Pirates turned what was a competitive non-league game with Rittman into a 63-40 rout. Broadsword finished with a season-high 30 points on 11-for-15 shooting, including a 7-for-9 effort from 3-point range. The sophomore dazzled with 18 points in a second half that saw Black River (7-2) clinging to a six-point lead before turning up the pressure and pulling away from the Indians (2-7), who are rebuilding in the tradition-rich Wayne County Athletic League under former Cloverleaf coach Jack Banks. "We play unselfish basketball, but we all know who we want to have the ball in their hands most of the time," Dack said. "Down low we want to get it to the Zanes (Bungard and Kristophel), and on the perimeter we want to make sure (Broadsword) is getting his touches, as well as Josh Stuart. "Tonight, (Broadsword) had the hot hand. That's what we do: When we have a guy who's hitting shots, we make sure to get him the ball." The Pirates weren't at their best for 2½ quarters and had issues with consistency at times against the set-heavy Indians. Black River, which missed a lot of easy shots despite shooting a solid 49.1% on the night, couldn't gain separation and led just 36-30 midway through the third quarter. That's when Broadsword, the team's lone real scoring threat in the first half, took over with three 3-pointers that helped push the lead to 46-30 heading into the fourth. Austin Pamer and Wade Mangan also scored during a 10-0 run that put the game out of reach, as the Pirates stayed hot to account for a somewhat misleading final score. "Shots started falling," Broadsword said. "I was getting good opportunities, so I just have to take what the defense gives me." Broadsword is averaging 24.5 points in Black River's four-game winning streak, and a collective effort complemented the shooting guard. Bungard battled inside for six points and a game-high 12 rebounds, Stuart added eight points, freshman Dom Bell had four assists off the bench and 3-point specialist Mangan ventured inside for three buckets in the decisive middle quarters. Rittman, which has two freshmen in its seven-player rotation, got 14 points from fiery center Christian Dubiel but little else. The Indians made just 4-of-17 shots in the second half — offsetting an 11-for-11 effort from the foul line — and were outrebounded 33-20 overall by the younger but more athletic Pirates. "We battled adversity," Dack said. "We've had some games that went our way for four quarters. We've had some games that didn't go our way for four quarters. When it doesn't go our way early, we have to make sure we battle through it and keep playing." Winning while overcoming adversity is the latest lesson for a youthful Black River team that is expected to welcome back sophomore starting point guard Hunter Varney (finger) to the lineup Tuesday for a Lorain County League game at Oberlin. Having a volume scorer who can get hot at any time like Broadsword certainly helps. "I would say we stayed pretty composed," Broadsword said. "There was a lot of trash-talking with us being aggressive and a lot of fouling. We stayed pretty composed. No one was talking back, which was good." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Black River 63, Rittman 40 BLACK RIVER &emsp;&emsp;12 17 17 17 — 63 RITTMAN &emsp;&emsp;10 11 9 10 — 40 Black River — Austin Pamer 2-0-4, Zane Kristophel 2-1-5, Zane Bungard 3-0-6, Parker Broadsword 11-1-30, Josh Stuart 3-0-8, Dom Bell 2-0-4, Wade Mangan 3-0-6, Carson Steidl 0-0-0, Carson Shlapack 0-0-0. TOTALS: 26-2-63. Rittman — Colton Dubiel 2-0-6, Spencer Welch 1-2-4, Christian Dubiel 4-6-14, Odin Weirick 1-2-5, Carson Smith 2-2-7, Braden Hoover 0-0-0, C.J. Reese 0-0-0, Jacob Gayman 1-2-4, Justin Tanner 0-0-0. TOTALS: 11-14-40. 3-point goals — Broadsword 7, Stuart 2, Co. Dubiel 2, Smith, Weirick. Rebounds — Black River 33 (Bungard 12), Rittman 20 (Welch 6). Assists — Black River 14 (Bell 4), Rittman (Smith 3). Records — Black River (7-2), Rittman (2-7). Junior varsity — Rittman 40, Black River 31 (BR: Shlapack 14).