LAGRANGE – For teams that produced mediocre field-goal shooting, subpar shooting at the foul line and too many turnovers, Black River and Keystone gave basketball fans a show Friday night.

After three ties and seven lead changes, the Wildcats (3-1) won a thriller, 37-36, over their backyard rivals. It was Black River’s first loss in four games and the first Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Division game for both teams.

The Pirates had a chance to win, albeit slim. They inbounded the ball from the far end of the court with 3.2 seconds to play. Black River’s Jacob O’Connor, a 5-foot-11 senior, got off a long 3-point attempt near midcourt that banged off the backboard just wide of the mark at the buzzer.

The Pirates’ inbounds play followed the winning foul shot by sophomore Caleb Schillace, Keystone’s 6-3 wing. Schillace was fouled on a move to the basket and made the first of two shots. It was all the Wildcats needed, and it eradicated two strong comebacks by the Pirates, one in the third quarter and another in the fourth.

“It was 24-17 (3:17 in the third quarter), and I told the guys, ‘This is the key to the game right here, either we’re going to pull away or they’re going to come back and have a pretty good chance of beating us,” Wildcats coach Greg Morgan said. “We missed a shot, they came down and made a couple shots – one was a one-footer – and they got hot.’”

Correct. The Pirates put together an 8-2 run to cut the margin to 26-25, as senior Curtis Klosski scored two baskets and John Guilford and Carl Younglas each scored one.

But Keystone widened the lead to 29-25 on Brandyn Sittinger’s 3-pointer late in the period.

“There was another point where we got up by eight, I believe,” Morgan said of the Wildcats’ 33-25 lead early in the fourth quarter. “Same thing. We missed a layup, they went down and made a couple shots and suddenly, it’s a game.”

Right again. The Pirates put on a 10-2 run with 6-1 senior Carl Younglas scoring two field goals and O’Connor hitting a shot that tied the game at 35.

In fact, the Pirates took a lead for the last time, 36-35, when junior Mat Stuart made a foul shot with 1:53 left.

“Our kids don’t quit,” said Black River coach Bryan Morgan, no relation to his Keystone counterpart. “We started out pretty poorly in the three games we had played so far, but our kids always stuck with it.”

The Wildcats’ Sam Bailosky tied it at 36 with the first of two free throws with 1:18 to go, followed by Schillace’s game-winner three ticks from the end.

About Bailosky: He finished with nine points, but seven came in the final eight minutes. His back-to-back field goals gave the Wildcats their eight-point lead early in the fourth quarter and it was his drive to the hoop that interrupted the Pirates’ big run that created a 35-35 tie in the final two minutes.

“I noticed that we weren’t finishing and I wasn’t finishing, and I knew I had to get to the hoop and be strong with it,” Bailosky said. “We had to get something going.”

He succeeded. But neither team’s shooting was particularly successful. The Pirates were 17-51 for 33.3 percent from the field and the Wildcats 15-61 (24.6 percent). Black River was just 1-4 from the foul line, Keystone 5-10. Black River committed 26 turnovers, Keystone half that.

Schillace’s winning foul shot gave him a game-high 11 points. Younglas led the Pirates with 10.

Contact Daniels at 329-7135 or basketball@bobdaniels.info.

Keystone 37, Black River 36

Black River (36): Curtis Klosski 3-0-7, Jacob O’Connor 1-0-2, Joe Tutie 4-0-8, Mat Stuart 0-1-1, Cody Klosski 0-0-0, Carl Younglas 5-0-10, John Guilford 1-0-2, Jon Sas 3-0-6. Totals 17-1-36.

Keystone (37): Jimmy Reid 2-1-6, Caleb Schillace 4-3-11, Brandyn Sittinger 1-0-3, Bryan Trego 1-0-2, Calab Wagner 0-0-0, Sam Bailosky 4-1-9, Clay Conrad 0-0-0, Ryan Clement 0-0-0, Corry Sprouse 2-0-4, Cody Dill 1-0-2. Totals 15-5-37.

Black River    5              10            10            11            -           36
Keystone         6              11            12            8              -           37

3-point goals: Black River 1-7 (Cu Klosski); Keystone 2-13 (Reid, Sittinger). Field goals: Black River 17-51 33.3 percent); Keystone 15-61 (24.6 percent). Free throws: Black River 1-4; Keystone 5-10. Rebounds: Black River 45; Keystone 29. Turnovers: Black River 26; Keystone 13. Fouled out: Sas.
JV: Keystone, 48-12.

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