ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (Feb. 14, 2025) -- On Friday night, the Rocky River Pirates closed out their inaugural season of Cleveland West Conference play. The River Raiders found themselves up against a game five from Normandy High School, but the Maroon & White prevailed 60-47.
Normandy (7-13, 2-12 CWC) was indeed a game bunch but a turnover-prone one. Rocky River (14-7, 10-4) was a plus-17 in turnovers, forcing 21 against just four of its own (none after halftime), as it closed out a two-game season sweep and handed the Invaders their fifth loss in their last six games.
The Pirates -- victors in a 72-24 rout at Normandy Jan. 10 -- leveraged an early 11-2 run and were in control of the game all throughout the first half. But the visiting Invaders opened the second half with a 6-0 run to whittle the River lead to two (26-24) in the early moments of the third quarter.
The middle minutes of the third were an even exchange. But a late-third 7-0 surge fueled by guards Danny Berg and Jacob Radcliffe sent the home five into the final eight minutes leading 43-34. The Pirates outscored the Invaders 17-16 in that taut third frame.
The Invaders briefly got within seven early in the fourth, but the Pirates would mostly nurse a double-digit lead the rest of the way. In sealing the victory, the Sons of Blackbeard wrapped up a runner-up finish in the conference. Both Rocky River and Buckeye finished with circuit marks of 10-4. Lakewood, which finished at 13-1, clinched the CWC title back on Feb. 4.
Rocky River -- which shot a blistering 59.2% (29-of-49) from the field in its Jan. 10 game against Normandy -- shot 42.1% (24-of-57) on Friday. The Invaders had their shot numbers undercut by turnovers; they went 17-of-40 (42.5%). Berg, Radcliffe, and Jackson Paige all hit multiple 3s, and River filed seven triples to Normandy's four. The Invaders out-rebounded River 35-21.
Rocky River got standout individual performances from Berg (15 points, five assists), Jeff Maslar (10P), and Radcliffe (17P, 4A). Four Pirate seniors -- Will Blough (1A), Jackson Paige (6P, two steals), Michael Swallow (6P, four rebounds, 3S), Turner Strickland (2P) -- logged solid performances on what marked Senior Night for the Buccaneer basketball program.
The Invaders got 10P and 5R from Landen Holmes and 16P from Alex Valentin Rivera.
With Friday's Senior Night triumph, Rocky River has now gone 7-2 across its last nine games against Normandy.
Friday's contest included a salute to the Maroon & White's Pirate Greybeards. And then the Invaders were repelled. It was a good night in what has been a string of such nights of late for the Sons of Blackbeard. Since Jan. 29, Rocky River has gone 5-1.
River will close out its regular-season slate Tuesday with a non-conference home game against Shaker Heights. Tip time in the tilt between the Red Raiders and the River Raiders will be 7 p.m.
by Skip Snow
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