ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (Dec. 10, 2022) -- The Rocky River Pirates closed out the back half of a weekend double by routing the Lincoln West Wolverines 68-32 Saturday night. The non-conference contest at Rocky River Gymnasium came less than 21 hours after a 51-48 win at North Olmsted had ended. But the Roundball Raiders were ready from the outset, and they clobbered the visiting five by scoring the game's first 25 points.
The Sons of Blackbeard did not allow a point until the final minute of the first quarter. An alert, aggressive, and ball-hawking defense came away with eight steals and 17 points off turnovers in that first frame. The Pirates hit 60% (12-of-20) of their shots in that opening period. They connected on a season-high 50% (29-of-58) for the game.
The rout on home hardwood included leads of 39-12 at halftime and 57-27 by the end of the third quarter. Rocky River logged season-highs in 3-pointers (eight) and assists (18) on a night when turnovers and ball movement fueled the squad's most points across their three games this season. And the plus-36 point differential marked River's largest since Feb. 2, 2019 (64-28 over Oberlin).
Four players clocked double figures for a Pirate offense that struggled on the foul line (2-of-9, 22.2%) and just about nowhere else. Rocky River (3-0) finished as a plus-9 in turnovers (11-20) and a plus-9 on the boards (34-25 in rebounds). The Pirates' eight triples marked their most in a single game since Jan. 7 (eight vs. Elyria Catholic), a stretch of 16 games.
Senior Gavin O'Brien knocked down three of those treys (3-of-6) as part of a 15-point performance. O'Brien also had 6 assists and two steals. Junior Julian Patti wet 5-of-6 from the floor as part of a 12-6-and-3 game (points-rebounds-assists). Patti also had two steals.
Censier Williams and Ryan Ricketti chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively. The night also saw senior Kevin Dumfeh register his first career points. He finished with four points and four rebounds. Hakeem Zayed had two points, eight boards, and four assists on what was a a productive night for the Buccaneer bench bunch.
Jeremiah Beasley scored 11 points to lead the Wolverines.
Rocky River -- 3-0 for the first time since 2018 -- will return to Great Lakes Conference West Division play -- in its next game. The Pirates will host Westlake Friday at 7 p.m.
by Skip Snow
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