ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (Feb. 10, 2023) -- Rocky River outscored Buckeye 9-0 in overtime to earn a hard-fought 66-57 victory at Rocky River Gymnasium Friday night.

A 12-point Pirate edge in the second quarter gradually faded into a tight deficit by the middle of the fourth, and River and Buckeye would trade their way to a 57-54 score -- with the Sons of Blackbeard in front -- with eight seconds remaining in regulation. A foul on a Bucks 3-point attempt sent Caden Hudak to the line, and Hudak came through for Buckeye, going 3-for-3 and sending the contest into overtime.

The extra session was all-River, and the Pirates earned the win in the Great Lakes Conference Tournament consolation bracket.

Julian Patti led the Pirates with a career-high 21 points. Will DeClerck (11P) and Censier Williams (8P) were also impactful for the Double-R offense. DeClerck filed a dominant evening on the boards as well.

[Full game stats unavailable at time of publication.]

The victory snapped a three-game skid for the Pirates (10-9) and extended what is now a four-game losing streak for the Bucks (4-16). Six of the last seven River-Buckeye games have been decided by five points or less or gone into overtime.

The Pirates will play a Saturday non-conference matinee (3:30 p.m.) at Kennedy before returning to GLC consolation games next week (Feb. 14 and Feb. 17).

by Skip Snow

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