Boys basketball: Gavin Dobbins scores final nine points as Open Door rallies past Clearview

ELYRIA — Open Door's Gavin Dobbins and Clearview's Sam Clark put on a good show Friday night in a meeting of two of the area's top players. But when it was all over, Dobbins got to take the biggest bow, scoring the final nine points to lead the Patriots to a come-from-behind 62-59 non-conference win that snapped a six-game losing streak. Dobbins finished with 21 points despite being double- and triple-teamed all night and sitting out most of the third quarter with foul trouble. Clark knocked down six 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 24 points. "It was really fun and he is a really good player," Dobbins said of Clark. "When you get a chance to play a guy like that, you jaw a little bit and just go at each other." The Patriots (9-9) held a 34-32 lead going into the second half, but the Clippers had a chance when Dobbins picked up his fourth four early in the quarter and sat for about seven minutes. Clearview (5-10) could only manage to tie the score at 45 though as Clark was held to five points in the quarter and the Clippers turned the ball over six times. Kevan Ford did his part with five points and freshman Jaiden Howard-Guerra scored four of his 19 points to keep the Patriots close going into the final eight minutes. "This was so much fun, especially since I'm friends with so many of those guys," Howard-Guerra said of the Clippers. "It was really important for us to get this win after being on a losing streak. It was hard when Gavin sat down, but we did a great job of staying calm and doing our jobs." It looked like Clearview grabbed the momentum it needed when Clark drilled back-to-back 3-pointers and B'ohn Smith-Belcher threw down his second dunk of the night to open the fourth for a 53-45 lead. Smith-Belcher was a force inside all night, scoring 19 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. "I told B'ohn that I thought this was a game that he could dominate on the inside," Clearview coach Jason Christensen. "I told him that he just had to stay around the rim tonight and he would be able to control the paint." Mitchell Wiley finally got Open Door on the board at the 5:49 mark, setting up a series of traded baskets until the Clippers grabbed a 59-53 lead on an Ayden Cruz free throw with just under three minutes left. But that turned out to be the final point of the night for Clearview as Dobbins took over. he started his run with a free throw and then hit a 3-pointer off a Ford steal with 2:18 on the clock to cut the lead to 59-57. Two free throws with 1:08 left tied the game and following a missed front end of a Clearview one-and-one, Dobbins grabbed the rebound and the Patriots called timeout with 19 seconds to go. Dobbins put the Patriots up for good with a driving bucket with six seconds left and Open Door got the ball right back when the inbounds pass hit the ceiling, leading to a Dobbins free throw for the final margin of victory. "I feel like a say this after every game, but if we could learn how to finish, just cut down on our turnovers (17) in key moments, we could get these wins," Christensen said. "If we could just eliminate two or three of those in these tight games it would make all the difference in the world." Contact James Brady at 329-7135 or jbrady_ct@yahoo.com. Open Door 62, Clearview 59 CLEARVIEW (59): Caden Justice 0-0-0, Samuel Clark 8-2-24, Ayden Cruz 2-1-5, Keith Colvin 0-0-0, Anthony Lara 0-0-0, Jalin Ferenzi 0-0-0, Nathaniel Klamer 2-1-7, Eric Graham 2-0-4, B'ohn Smith-Belcher 8-3-19. Totals 22-7-59. OPEN DOOR (62): Mitch Abram 2-0-6, Jaiden Howard_Guerra 8-2-19, Caleb Brooks 2-0-4, Michael Couture 0-0-0, Mitchell Wiley 2-0-4, Gavin Dobbins 4-11-21, Kevan Ford 2-2-8. Totals 20-15-62. Clearview &emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp;18 14 13 14 - &emsp;&emsp;59 Open Door &emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp;16 18 11 17 - &emsp;&emsp;62 Three-point goals: Clearview 8-18 (44 percent, Clark 6, Klamer 2), Open Door 7-20 (35 percent, Abram 2, Dobbins 2, Ford 2, Howard-Guerra); Field goals: Clearview 22-51 (43 percent), Open Door 20-59 (34 percent); Free throws: Clearview 7-11 (64 percent), Open Door 15-20 (75 percent); Rebounds: Clearview 41, Open Door 31; Turnovers: Clearview 17, Open Door 7. Junior varsity: Open Door, 58-42