FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio -- Rocky River was defeated by the Fairview Warriors, 84-62, on Friday night.
A hot-shooting home five shot 59.3% (32-of-54) from the field in taking the first Great Lakes Conference meeting with their West Side rivals. Fairview led wire-to-wire; River got within one on several occasions. The latest was early in the second quarter, but the Warriors went on a run to turn a 24-23 lead into a 39-31 advantage by halftime. A clicking-on-all-cylinders Fairview squad took advantage of Pirate miscues to the tune of a 25-8 edge in points of turnovers. The Warriors would outscore the Pirates, 45-31, in the second half.
Fairview's 82 points marked the most Rocky River has yielded in a single game since Jan. 4, 2019. But that output is nothing new for the Warriors this season -- Fairview (10-1, 7-0 GLC) has now score 80-plus in seven games.
The Warriors were paced by a pair of seniors -- Noah Mesaros and Luke Howes. Mesaros scored 28 points and Howes added 27. The two combined to go 24-of-37 from the floor.
Rocky River senior Tommy Ruma scored a career-high 28 to lead the Maroon & White. Ruma went 5-of-12 from three-point-land. The senior guard has notched 20-plus in four straight games.
As a team, the Pirates shot 40.4% (23-of-57). River was a minus-8 in turnover margin (18 to 11).
Robby Lang added 14 points and Charlie Hudson tallied 12. Braedon Spies collected four points, eight boards and four assists.
by Skip Snow
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