FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio -- Rocky River fell to Fairview in a Great Lakes Conference West Division contest Tuesday night. The Warriors (7-2, 3-0 GLC West) committed just three turnovers while outshooting the Pirates in a 69-49 conquest.
Fairview leveraged iffy Rocky River shooting in a second quarter that saw the Warriors outscore their visitors 14-6. Overall, the Warriors got 21 points from Tyler Holliday and 16 from Danny Hanton in snapping a two-game losing streak and remaining undefeated in West Division play.
Rocky River (3-4, 1-2) went just 1-of-14 (7.1%) from the field in that decisive second quarter. The Pirates carried over shooting woes after hanging a 32.7%-mark (16-of-49) in their last game, a 71-40 loss to Brunswick last Wednesday. They would shoot just 14.3% (4-of-14) in Tuesday's first half before leveling off with more normalized figures in the second.
Fairview extended its nine-point cushion (24-15) at the half to 17 points by the end of the third quarter. In that frame, the Warriors went 8-of-14 (57%) with two triples from the field while going 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. The home five led 47-30 by the end of that third period.
The fourth quarter saw a liberal exchange of bench players and three more points in differential ceded to the south-side inhabitants of Wagar/210.
For the game, Fairview extended its home record to 4-0 by shooting 47.2% (25-of-53) from the floor and 76.5% (13-of-17) from the line. The Pirates finished with a 29.3% mark from the field, a season low. And the River Raiders went just 9-of-18 (50%) from the foul line.
Rocky River was a minus-8 in turnovers but a plus-10 (41-31) in rebounding. River failed, however, to capitalize on a season-high-tying 19 offensive rebounds. The Pirates logged but eight second-chance points.
Holliday clocked his 21 points on a 7-of-11 night from the floor. He went 6-of-6 at the line and also grabbed eight rebounds while dishing out three assists. Hanton went 6-of-9 from the field and had seven rebounds.
For Rocky River, Braedon Spies knocked down four treys while posting a game-high and career-best 22 points. Spies -- who went into Tuesday's action averaging 11.3 points per game -- also had three assists. Fellow senior captain Patrick Lange added a career-high 12 points. Lange had five rebounds, all on the offensive glass.
But the Pirates' shooting slumps were costly throughout, and now a team that averaged 59.4 PPG over its first four contests has struggled to score 89 over its last two games combined.
A stretch of West Division games is slated to continue Friday when Rocky River travels to Westlake.
CANNON FIRE ...
YOUNG BUCS: Rocky River defeated Fairview 53-41 in Tuesday's junior varsity game. In freshman action, the Pirates downed the Warriors 58-21.
SERIES SWINGS BACK: Fairview's victory snapped a two-game River run in the series. The Warriors have now won six of the last eight meetings. Since 2006, Rocky River and Fairview have met 20 times. The Pirates are 13-7 over that stretch.
by Skip Snow
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