Black River is 0-10 against Firelands since February of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Black River Pirates will be playing in front of their home fans against the Firelands Falcons at 7:00 p.m. Black River is coming into the match on a three-game losing streak.
While Black River couldn't quite beat Wellington on Tuesday, the two-point margin was a huge improvement compared to the 23-point defeat they were dealt on Saturday. Black River fell just short of Wellington by a score of 42-40.
Black River's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Zane Bungard, who scored 11 points along with seven rebounds and two steals, and Evan Ladina who scored 11 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. Ladina also posted two blocks for the first time this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Layne Lawhon, who scored five points.
Black River was without their leading scorer, John Kray, in Tuesday's contest. With Kray sitting this one out, Lawhon got some extra time on the court (18 vs. his season average of 7.78). Lawhon made the most of the opportunity, scoring five points. A few more games like that and he might be seeing even more time going forward.
Meanwhile, even though Columbia scored an imposing 56 points on Tuesday, Firelands still came out on top. Firelands took their match against Columbia 65-56. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Firelands.
Black River dropped their record down to 2-15 with that defeat, which was their 13th straight on the road dating back to last season. That rough patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.6 points per game. As for Firelands, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-7 record this season.
Black River ended up a good deal behind Firelands in their previous matchup back in January, losing 66-51. Will Black River have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
