Boys Basketball: Red-hot Firelands storms past Black River

SULLIVAN TWP. — Black River has hit its first bump in the road, while Firelands appears ready to speed down the homestretch. Aided by defensive breakdowns by the Pirates, the Falcons put on an offensive clinic Friday night while racing to an impressive 76-55 Lorain County League victory. Firelands (6-11, 4-7), which lost the teams' first meeting 44-41 on Dec. 16, shot a sizzling 30-for-47 from the field (.638) and made nine 3-pointers in 15 attempts (.600) in a game in which it led Black River (10-7, 6-5) by as many as 25 points. The Pirates have lost two in a row and three of four. "I've never seen a team shoot like that in my life," Pirates coach Kyle Dack said. "We gambled way too much on steals. If we had played a little more fundamental, we may have been in a better place later in the game." Given the way the Falcons executed and shot, it still probably wouldn't have made a difference. Forward Logan Holt led Firelands with 23 points on 8-for-12 shooting, all in the first three quarters. Center Ayden Fortner had 16 points on 7-for-11 while adding six rebounds and two assists, guard Max Brown had 13 points on 4-for-7 and backup big man Bretty Beury had 10 on 5-for-6 and four boards as the bigger and more physical Falcons dominated the glass 25-12. Firelands also got six points, six boards and four assists from forward Carson Lima. "We're a big team and we like being physical," said Holt, who did most of his damage from the perimeter. "We go into every game thinking we have a physical advantage." Black River had no answer while getting outscored 49-26 over the last 17:04. "We've got to wall up and try to defend as much as we can," said center Zane Bungard, who led the Pirates with 15 points and five rebounds. "We gambled on a lot of plays and went for steals when we shouldn't have." Down 25-16 early in the second period, the Pirates used a 1-3-1 trap that temporarily slowed the Falcons and went on a 9-0 run to tie, then extended to 13-2 to take a 29-27 lead. The Falcons, however, got a 3-pointer from Brown, a 3-pointer from Lima and a baseline jumper from backup guard Gabe DiFillippo over the final 1:04 of the first half to go up 35-29. Holt then had five points in a 7-0 run to start the third period and he and his team never looked back. The senior had 11 points in the quarter on 5-for-5 shooting as the Falcons took a 56-41 lead. Fortner then scored nine of his team's first 12 points in the fourth quarter as Firelands went up 68-43 with 4:31 to play. "In the second half we got stops and that led to offense," Holt said. "We were playing as a team and we got our shots up with confidence. "The first game we were still figuring out how to play as a team. At the beginning of the season it was a struggle, but now we're playing together." Black River was a sizzling 10-for-14 from the field (.714) and 7-for-8 at the line (.875) over the first two quarters, but finished 17-for-37 (.459) and 18-for-25 (.720). The Pirates, who had just four rebounds in the first half, also made just three 3-pointers in 15 attempts (.200). Shooting guard Josh Stuart had 11 points and three assists for Black River, power forward Zane Kristophel had 10 points and point guard Hunter Varney had nine points and three assists, but the Pirates repeatedly got burned by Holt from the perimeter and big men Fortner and Beury down low in the second half. "We've been in a drought shooting," Bungard said. "We aren't coming out with as much energy, but we'll bounce back." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Firelands 76, Black River 55 Firelands (76): Carson Lima 2-0-6, Logan Holt 8-4-23, Ayden Fortner 7-0-16, Mikey Jonosik 2-0-4, Max Brown 4-3-13, Liam Tobicash 0-0-0, Brett Beury 5-0-10, Gabe DiFillippo 2-0-4, Carter Jones 0-0-0, Roman DiFillippo 0-0-0. Totals 30-7-76. Black River (55): Parker Broadsword 0-5-5, Zane Kristophel 4-2-10, Zane Bungard 6-3-15, Josh Stuart 2-6-11, Hunter Varney 3-2-9, Wade Mangan 2-0-5, Austin Pamer 0-0-0. Totals 17-18-55. Firelands&emsp;21&emsp;14&emsp;21&emsp;20&emsp;—&emsp;76 Black River&emsp;14&emsp;15&emsp;12&emsp;14&emsp;—&emsp;55Three-point goals: Holt 3, Lima 2, Brown 2, Fortner 2, Stuart, Varney, Mangan. Rebounds: Firelands 25 (Fortner, Lima 6), Black River 12 (Bungard 5). Assists: Firelands 17 (Lima, Tobicash 4), Black River 11 (Varney, Stuart 3). Junior varsity: Firelands, 57-17.