Boys Basketball: Black River's quick start sinks Clearview

LORAIN — A fast start by Black River proved too much for Clearview. The Pirates opened with eight unanswered points and the Clippers couldn't quite catch up as Black River secured a 61-48 Lorain County League win Tuesday evening. "In Black River history, we always start off slow," said Zane Bungard, who finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. "And with our new coach we're trying to do different things to get us pumped up and going early. That's what we did this game and we came out with a big win." Even though Clearview (0-4, 0-2) trailed the entire game, there were spots where it looked like the Clippers were going to come back. They responded with a 10-4 run that closed the Pirates lead to two points with 3:40 remaining in the first quarter. Four players scored on the run, with Joe Stephens producing four points on a pair of jumpers. "We got outworked," Clearview coach Bobby Gossom said. "They came out and just came after us. We talked about it in film session. We told them they were going to come out and play hard defensively and run their stuff on offense and we needed to really be disciplined in what we do and we just didn't do that in the first half." Black River (1-1, 1-1) responded with nine unanswered and then pushed its lead to double digits in the second quarter, eventually leading 35-22 within the first minute of the third quarter. But again Clearview didn't let the Pirates pull away, responding with seven unanswered. Damir Mosley started the run with the Clippers' first 3-pointer and Juelz Chapman added back-to-back jump shots to make it 35-29. Parker Broadsword, who was in foul trouble in the first half, ended the run. The sophomore scored Black River's final seven points of the quarter to put the Pirates up 53-38. He finished with a team-high 14 points, three rebounds and two steals. "We called a couple of quick hitters, a couple of sets and we really executed to get six points and a couple of layups on those," Black River coach Kyle Dack said. "Those were some high-percentage shots for us, so just calling those to bring us back. We usually save those, but we knew we needed them right then." Overall, Black River had a balanced attack as four of its five starters finished in double figures. Zane Kristophel added 12 points — including eight in the second half — and Stuart finished with 10. Clearview made one last run in the fourth quarter with seven unanswered that cut the lead to 53-45, but Black River connected on 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch to keep the Clippers at arm's length. "I thought we were a little more disciplined in the second half," Gossom said. "We got back to doing what we wanted to do instead of trying to adjust to what they were doing." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X. Black River 61, Clearview 48 BLACK RIVER (61): Austin Pamer 2-0-5, Zane Bungard 5-1-11, Zane Kristophel 5-2-12, Josh Stuart 3-2-10, Parker Broadsword 6-0-14, Dominic Bell 1-1-4, Wade Mangan 2-0-5. Totals 24-6-61. CLEARVIEW (48): Deacon Delgado 5-7-17, Devin Jackson 1-0-2, Juelz Chapman 3-0-6, Michael O'Neal Jr. 0-0-0, Joe Stephens 3-1-7, Damir Mosley 1-2-5, De'Zonn Chapman 3-0-7, Montez Sanchez Miller 2-0-4, Nysir Huston 0-0-0, Brayden Pearson 0-0-0, Tristin Ientile 0-0-0. Totals 18-10-48. Black River&emsp;19&emsp;14&emsp;9&emsp;19&emsp;—&emsp;61 Clearview&emsp;12&emsp;10&emsp;10&emsp;16&emsp;—&emsp;48 Three-point goals: Black River 7-20 (Broadsword 2, Stuart 2, Bell, Mangan, Pamer), Clearview 2-11 (Chapman, Mosley). Field goals: Black River 24-57 (42 percent), Clearview 18-48 (38 percent). Free throws: Black River 6-11 (55 percent), Clearview 10-16 (63 percent). Rebounds: Black River 32 (Bungard 8), Clearview 27 (Delgado 9). Total fouls: Black River 13, Clearview 13. Turnovers: Black River 18, Clearview 20. Junior varsity: Clearview, 52-33.