ROCKY RIVER, Ohio – Pirate Boys’ Basketball continued to celebrate its 100th season with a holiday-at-home tournament – the Holiday Hoops Classic – on Friday and Saturday. Rocky River lost on Friday and won a Saturday-afternoon consolation game to go 1-1 and place third in the four-team event.
The Maroon & White were felled, 76-66, in a hard-fought and entertaining Friday opener against Avon Lake. River came back to win on Saturday, defeating John Hay, 54-37. Junior forward Charlie Hudson logged a combined 30 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals en route to being named to the All-Holiday Hoops Classic Team. The Lorain Titans defeated the Shoremen in Saturday’s title match-up.
On Friday, a monster second quarter – a 23-point frame for River – sent the Pirates into halftime, leading the Shoremen, 36-35. A 3-bombing Avon Lake squad outscored Rocky River, 41-30, over the second half to win the first-round match-up. The Shoremen went 5-of-10 from beyond the arc over the final 16 minutes of play. Overall for the game, Avon Lake would shoot a robust 54.3% (25-for-46) from the floor.
Rocky River’s guard play was solid against a talented Shoremen squad. The Pirates committed just 11 turnovers – a season-best – in the loss. Connor O’Toole, Nathan Robertson, Tommy Ruma and Braedon Spies combined for 32 points and five assists while being tagged with just four turnovers. Hudson had 14 points and five assists. Forward Tommy Bebie stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and four steals.
In Saturday’s consolation game, Rocky River and John Hay slogged their way to just 30 first-half points. Leading 16-14 when the third period got underway, the Pirates began to click on offense. River went 5-of-9 from the field – with a trio of threes – in a third quarter that say them outscore the Hornets, 16-10. The Sons of Blackbeard closed out the contest with a fine fourth, scoring 22 and allowing 13.
For the game, River forced 24 turnovers. Charlie Hudson
(four), Tommy Bebie (two) and Tommy Ruma (two) each registered multiple steals
in the game. The Pirates outshot the Hornets, 50% to 33%. Rocky River went
5-of-16 (31%) from 3-point range after hitting a season-high seven treys
(7-of-21, 33%) the night before.
River out-rebounded John Hay, 30-25.
Ruma poured in a season-high 21 for the Maroon & White.
Hudson had 16 points. That tandem combined to go 12-of-21 (57.1%) from the
floor and 11-of-14 (78.6%) from the free-throw line.
The two-day, eight-team (four boys’ teams, four girls’ teams) tournament was sponsored by Cleveland Clinic Sports Health and the River Basketball Association.
by Skip Snow
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