Boys basketball: Black River rallies from 23 points down to beat Keystone

LAGRANGE — Black River cleared its head, then cleared Keystone out of its way. The Pirates shook off a dreadful first half with a huge third quarter and held off the Wildcats for a 69-67 Lorain County League win Friday night. "They got in our heads a little bit in the first half," said Pirates junior Johnny Kray, who scored 18 of his team-high 21 points in the second half, including a 12-point third quarter. "We just fired back hard. We wanted it." Keystone (2-5, 1-2) looked as if it was on its way to a rout as it could do little wrong in the first two quarters. The Wildcats suffocated the Pirates, holding them to no points for a seven-minute stretch until midway into the second quarter as they built a 28-6 lead. The Wildcats led by 23 points and got to the hoop with ease. Forward Alex Nagle scored 12 of his 21 points in the first half, many coming in transition from feeds off steals by Konner Rodick and Grant Hartley. "We talked about Black River's inability to get back on defense consistently and really took advantage of it in the first half," Keystone coach Jeff Holzhauer said. "Alex was able to get out in transition and run and that was the game plan. I told him before the game he was going to get a ton of transition layups tonight and that's what he did. But he didn't get any in the second half. We didn't do a good enough job turning them over in the second half." Rodick, who scored a game-high 23 points, had 15 by halftime, but was held scoreless in the third quarter as he — and the Wildcats — struggled with foul trouble. Black River (4-4, 1-2) turned up the defense, limiting Keystone to six points in the third as it strung together a 17-4 run, including the final nine points. Kray was instrumental during the run with three 3-pointers and 11 total points. Blake Hopkins, who Black River coach J.R. Wilson gave the starting nod to because of his rebounding and defense, didn't disappoint. The junior snagged 10 boards and added nine points to go with four steals and a block, most of which came in the second half. "Blake Hopkins is one of those garbage men, he'll clean up the mess," Wilson said. "He brings so much energy, he's probably our best defender on the team. I'm huge on defense and rebounding and that kid can bring it." Ridge Martin gave Black River its first lead with 4:36 left off a 3-pointer that ignited the visiting crowd. While Keystone never regained the lead, it methodically chipped away at what was a five-point deficit in the final two minutes. Rodick tied the game at 67 with an old-fashioned three-point play with 37.1 seconds left. Black River had the answer as Kray drove the baseline and found Martin with a back-door pass for an easy layup. Rodick set Hartley up with an open look from three at the buzzer, but it rimmed out. "We were not doing what our coach was saying, that's why they came back," Rodick said. "Our defense was terrible, it's as simple as that. We need to play four quarters of great basketball." Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on Twitter. Black River 69, Keystone 67 BLACK RIVER (69): Eric Groesser 4-5-13, Blake Hopkins 5-0-10, Ridge Martin 3-1-9, Evan Ladina 1-0-2, Cayden Hinderman-Powell 5-2-12, Johnny Kray 6-5-21, Chase McKenzie 1-0-2, Stephan Kozopas 0-0-0, Aden MacFarlane 0-0-0. Totals 25-13-69. KEYSTONE (67): Konner Rodick 7-6-23, Christian Beltran 2-1-5, Alex Nagle 9-3-21, Grant Hartley 2-1-6, Brock Miller 2-1-6, Zach Shackleford 0-0-0, Parker Padin 3-0-6, Logan Nagle 0-0-0. Totals 26-12-67. Black River 6 &emsp;&emsp; 19 19 25 — 69Keystone 19 24 6 &emsp;&emsp; 18 — 67 Three-point goals: Black River 6-21 (Kray 4, Martin 2), Keystone 3-19 (Hartley, Miller, Rodick). Field goals: Black River 25-58 (43 percent), Keystone 26-59 (44 percent). Free throws: Black River 13-18 (72 percent), Keystone 12-20 (60 percent). Rebounds: Black River 33 (Hopkins 10), Keystone 29 (Hartley 7, Rodick 6, Alex Nagle 5). Total fouls: Black River 18, Keystone 16. Fouled out: Beltran. Turnovers: Black River 11, Keystone 12.Junior varsity: Keystone, 45-26