Boys basketball: Black River holds off Open Door rally

SPENCER TWP. — A snoozer nearly turned into a thriller as Black River dominated for nearly three quarters before a furious rally from Open Door made things close in the fourth. In the end the big start by Black River was enough for the Pirates to hold on for a 56-47 non-conference win Tuesday. The first half was all Pirates (4-9) with freshmen Hunter Varney (six points, five rebounds and five assists) and Josh Stuart's career night leading the way. Stuart notched his first career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. He was particularly key in the first quarter with two offensive rebounds and five total boards. The duo combined to help Black River jump out to a 24-6 halftime lead. "I feel like we just came out with good intensity," Stuart said. "We were prepared and 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." Varney played a big role the great offensive start for the Pirates as they didn't commit a turnover in the first quarter and just two in the first half. "We moved the ball and came to the ball," Varney said. "We were hitting shots and we were being very aggressive." While the Black River start was fantastic, it was the opposite for the Patriots. Open Door missed its first 12 shots of the game before a basket from Nolan Raack (21 points, four rebounds) early in the second quarter, then went on to miss 10 more heading into halftime. "We just couldn't get anything to fall," Raack said. "The offense was slow, and we are not really a half-court offense type of team, we need to press people and get our offense going. That's what we need to do from the beginning." The Black River lead hit its peak with 57 seconds left in the third quarter as it led 41-16 and stayed in front 53-30 thanks to a solid run from Zyan Griffin, who scored all nine of his points over a 3:05 span of the fourth quarter. The Patriots then erupted for a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to 53-43 with a minute left in the game. Raack scored seven points in the spurt. Kenny Castreson (six points, four rebounds) scored with 28 second left to cut the lead to single digits at 54-45, but the Patriots couldn't get any closer. Open Door outscored the Pirates 29-15 in the fourth quarter, eclipsing their total from the first three quarters of 18. "We are tired of losing," Raack said. "I think it's now a five-game losing streak. We are ready to get a W. We want it, but we just haven't been able to execute." The Patriots shot significantly better after the poor start and nailed 18-of-33 (55 percent) in the second half. Zane Kristophel chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds for the Pirates while Nate Otero added eight points, seven boards and three assists for the Patriots. Black River 56, Elyria Open Door 47 OPEN DOOR (47): 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 (56): 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. Open Door&emsp;3&emsp;3&emsp;12&emsp;29&emsp;—&emsp;47 Black River&emsp;11&emsp;13&emsp;17&emsp;15&emsp;—&emsp;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). Junior varsity: Black River, 52-44.