Black River and Brooklyn are an even 3-3 against one another since December of 2015, but not for long. The Black River Pirates will head out on the road to challenge the Brooklyn Hurricanes at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Black River is no doubt hoping to put an end to a 13-game streak of away losses dating back to last season.
Last Friday, Black River lost to Firelands at home by a decisive 52-37 margin. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Black River has scored all season.
Despite their defeat, Black River saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Ridge Martin, who scored 15 points along with two steals, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of Blake Hopkins, who scored six points along with five rebounds and five steals.
Black River was without their leading scorer, John Kray, in Friday's match. With Kray sitting this one out, Layne Lawhon got some extra time on the court (16 vs. his season average of 8.6).
Meanwhile, Brooklyn had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13.8 points), and they went ahead and made it five on Wednesday. They enjoyed a cozy 66-50 win over Lincoln West. Given Brooklyn's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 336th, while Lincoln West is ranked 829th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Black River has traveled a rocky road recently having lost ten of their last 11 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-16 record this season. As for Brooklyn, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-7 record this season.
Black River came up short against Brooklyn in their previous matchup back in February of 2021, falling 54-44. Can Black River avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
