ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (Jan. 23, 2024) -- On Tuesday night at Rocky River Gymnasium, the Pirates looked like a squad that hadn't played in a while. And they looked that way against a strong Warrior five that knew how to leverage iffy River ballhandling. And that made for a renewal in the Battle of Wagar Road that for the Buccaneers went south. Fairview came up on the sunny side of the street -- West 210th Street -- with a 62-46 triumph over Rocky River.
Returning after weather-induced 10-day layoff, the Pirates committed 17 turnovers and struggled from the floor. Improving to 6-0 on the road, Fairview (9-3) registered 13 steals and displayed a depth in scoring. The Warriors held sway throughout much of the non-conference rivalry tussle, although their game-end plus-16 was certainly solidified by a 25-12 final frame in which they shot 50% (6-of-12) from the floor while going 11-of-12 at the charity stripe. Fairview also had six of its 13 steals in that final period.
The visitors went into that last quarter leading 37-34. Two quick 3-pointers by sophomore guard Will Allen vaulted the Warriors to a 43-34 lead. The Pirates (6-5), which after having a Friday game postponed due to inclement weather had not played since Jan. 12, briefly got as close as five (49-44) by the middle of the fourth. But Fairview mostly controlled the outcome the rest of the way with its strong shooting performance on the uncontested 15-footers.
The Pirates short-circuited their own comeback effort by struggling on their free throws. For the night, River went 7-of-16 (43.8%) at the foul line. Over their last three games, the Buccaneers have gone just 14-of-29 (48.3%) at the stripe.
Allen paced the Warriors with a game-high 19 points. Owen McMonagle went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line en route to a 13-point night. McMonagle also had six rebounds and three steals. Burke Lowry filed a 10-point, four-assist, five-steal performance. Collin Lucas entered 8P, 8R, and 3S into the ledger. The Warriors outshot the Pirates 40% to 32%, were a plus-7 in the turnover exchange, and scored 17 points off River turnovers.
Julian Patti led Rocky River with a 15-and-14 (points, rebounds) double-double. Fellow senior captain Jaden Charney added 9P. Danny Berg and Joe Schill each contributed 7P.
The Wagar-210 tussle has been a two-way street of late. The two schools have played leapfrog over the last six series meetings and are tied 4-4 over the last eight. Since 2006, Rocky River is 15-9 against its neighbors to the south.
Rocky River will return to Great Lakes Conference West Division play with a Friday road game at Westlake. That tilt at WHS opens a stretch that has the Pirates on the road for seven of their next eight games.
by Skip Snow
# # # Pirates # # #