Mogdaore’s Jordon Smith releases a runner in the lane on Friday.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Friday’s win was not as clean as Mogadore and head coach Russ Swartz would have liked, but this is not the time for apologies.

It is tournament time.

Mogadore guard Gavin Gardner goes up for a left-handed layup against Black River defender Zane Kristophel.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

The objective is clear: Find a way to win.

Mogadore achieved that, survived and advanced, defeating the visiting Black River Pirates, 57-52, in a game that featured a collection of ups and downs for both teams.

Fortunately for Mogadore (9-11), its biggest valley came in the third quarter, allowing them the opportunity for redemption in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

At one point, Mogadore held a 15-point lead in the second quarter, but things began to slip away and really went reeling in the third quarter when the Pirates (4-19) shifted to an active 3-2 zone, with occasional traps.

It handcuffed a tentative Mogadore offense.

In the third quarter, the Wildcats, who had led 32-17 at one point and 37-28 at halftime, scored only three points, shot 1-of-11 from the field — with nine of those field-goal attempts being 3-pointers — and had eight turnovers.

The result was a 40-40 tie entering the final 8 minutes of play.

“I thought we had a solid first half and looked pretty good until about 2 minutes to go in the second quarter. We just lost our focus,” Swartz said. “It carried over to the third quarter, which was a disaster for us. We just fell completely out of rhythm on both sides of the court and that happens sometimes. When it does, it can be hard to find the momentum again.”

Mogadore senior Jordon Smith loses his balance on his way up for a shot during the fourth quarter on Friday. Smith was fouled on the shot attempt.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

Junior point guard Jude Thiry did his part to capture the elusive momentum for Mogadore, burying a pair of 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to start the fourth quarter and put the Cats up 46-40.

“Those two 3s from Jude were huge for us,” Swartz said.

But they were not enough to pull away from the Pirates.

Black River continued to jump passing lanes on defense and create just enough offense, despite shooting only 20-of-57 (35 percent) from the field and 5-of-26 (19 percent) from 3-point range, to take a 50-48 lead under 4 minutes to play and a 52-50 lead with 3:21 to play.

The Pirates would not score again, though.

At the 2:51 mark, Mogadore’s Jordon Smith hit one of his two free throws to pull within one at 52-51. On the next possession, Smith was again fouled as he was shooting and this time hit both of his shots from the charity stripe to push Mogadore back in front at 53-52.

Gavin Gardner then hit two free throws and Thiry buried another two free throws, while Mogadore’s defense tightened on Black River’s critical final possessions.

Amongst that defensive energy was Stephenson, who was a dominant presence at the rim with 19 rebounds and three blocked shots (and many more altered). He also had three steals. On offense, he was efficient, connecting on 5-of-8 for 11 points. All despite being in foul trouble throughout various points of the game, including a fourth foul picked up at 7:07 in the fourth quarter.

Wildcats junior guard Jude Thiry prepares to send a pass up the court in transition against Black River defender Hunter Varney.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

“That is the type of player Nick is, and he has been doing it all year for us,” Swartz said. “We want him to continue to be more aggressive on offense, but we always know that he is going to leave his imprint on the game with his defense and rebounding.”

Thiry led the Wildcats in scoring with 14 points. In addition to his two clutch fourth-quarter 3-pointers, he also buried a pair from long range in the second quarter.

Smith finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, while Karson Jaber had eight points, five rebounds and five assists for Mogadore.

Black River’s top scorer was Parker Broadsword, who had 18 points (8-of-14 shooting) and seven rebounds. Zane Kristophel added 12 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots for the Pirates, while Hunter Varney had eight points, seven assists and three steals.

Friday’s win advances Mogadore to the district semifinal, which will be played on Tuesday against Smithville. The Smithies are the bracket’s No. 1 seed, with Mogadore holding the No. 17 seed.

Mogadore’s Jordon Smith jumps in anticipation for an offensive rebound that isn’t necessary as the ball goes through the hoop. Paisley Nader/Portage Sports