The Black River Pirates's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their seventh straight loss. They lost to Columbia on the road by a decisive 67-53 margin. While losing is never fun, Black River can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 767th, while Columbia is ranked 381st).
Several Pirates players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was John Kray, who scored 26 points along with two steals. Evan Ladina was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with six rebounds and four steals.
Black River's loss was their 16th straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 2-19. That rough patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.2 points per game. As for Columbia, the win (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 13-7.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Black River is on the road again on Friday and plays Oberlin at 7:00 p.m. on February 23rd. As for Columbia, they will take on Orrville at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Columbia's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last eight matches.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
