ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (Jan. 31, 2025) -- Rocky River pulled off a two-game season sweep, a two-game girls-boys doubleheader sweep, and a four-game, both-teams season sweep, as the Pirates defeated the Bay Rockets 60-48 Friday.
The Buccaneers aggressively clogged passing lanes and contested inside-the-arc shots to the hilt in what was one of their better defensive efforts of the season. River held the visiting five to a 29.4% (20-of-68) from the floor, and the Pirates have now bested Bay in four straight games in in six of the last seven meetings between the two west-side rivals.
Sophomore guard Danny Berg provided some microwave offense in the early minutes of a game the Rockets never led. Berg had four buckets in the first quarter, a period that saw the Pirates bolt to 18-9 lead only to have the Rockets (10-9, 5-6 Cleveland West Conference) answer with an 8-3 run before the break between quarters. The second stanza was a low-scoring, defensive tussle with both sides shooting under-30%, and the Maroon & White went into halftime leading 30-26.
Bay opened the third with a Ryan Miller 3-pointer, but with junior guard Jacob Radcliffe leading the way the Pirates held sway for the rest of the period. Radcliffe torched the Rockets on an array of hanging jumpers throughout the game. He had seven points in the third quarter, and the Double-R went into the fourth leading 45-36.
The visitors whittled their deficit down to four (47-43) about a third of the way into the fourth quarter. The Rockets were within five (50-45) by the mid-point of the final frame, but Rocky River (11-6, 8-3) closed out the contest with a decisive 10-3 run.
With the win in the boys' game, the Double-R doubled up on the Rockets; Rocky River won Friday's girls' game -- the front end of a girls-boys doubleheader by a score of 39-25. The Pirates also swept Bay in double-dip action at BHS Dec. 20.
For the game, River outshot Bay 41% to 29%. Both sides struggled from distance and at the foul line, but the Pirates wrangled a 42-26 advantage on points in the paint. Bay worked itself to 15 offensive rebounds but could only convert those boards into seven second-chance points. The Rockets were a plus-2 in rebounds (41-39) and a plus-2 in turnovers (11-13).
Senior forward Collin Melvin led the Rocket effort with a 10-point, 13-rebound, four-assist night. Ethan George and Miller each tallied nine points in 3-by-3 fashion, 20 feet at a time.
Radcliffe finished with 26 points on 11-of-21 shooting. The junior talent also grabbed a game-high and season-high 14 rebounds and had two steals. Radcliffe's 26 points marked his second-highest total of the season (28 vs. Prosser-Wash.). He has scored 47 points over Rocky River's last two games.
Berg finished with 11 points on a 5-of-10 evening from the field. Senior captain Michael Swallow had a lunch-pail seven-point, 10-rebound game. Swallow and junior forward Jeff Maslar were in on numerous defensive stops in the paint.
Rocky River’s next two games will be on the road; that stretch gets underway Tuesday when the Pirates visit Lakewood (7 p.m. tip time).
by Skip Snow
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