Willard flips script in win at Port Clinton

PORT CLINTON — The script was eerily similar.Willard found itself down 11 points in the first quarter on Wednesday against Port Clinton. The Flashes even trailed by the same exact score it did last Friday in a home loss to PC.Willard was not about to let this one finish the way it did last week.Trey Paxton tallied 23 points and eight rebounds, lifting the Flashes past Port Clinton, 58-50 in Sandusky Bay Conference Bay division action."I thought in the second half we played a little bit better defensively," Willard coach Joe Bedingfield said. "I thought our energy was bad coming out. We gave up too many easy looks."The final score is just one point off from the Redskins' 58-49 win in Willard on Friday. This time, Willard (10-6, 3-4 SBC Bay) used a 19-6 third quarter edge to turn back PC (9-5, 3-4)."I thought in the second half we did a better job of spacing and attacking and not settling for jump shots," Bedingfield said.The Flashes trailed by 11 points in the first quarter and were still down by that margin in the second quarter after Tyler Webb hit a 3 for the Redskins. Paxton scored consecutive baskets for Willard before the 3-pointer and added back-to-back tallies after it. But, despite eight straight from the senior, Brayden Spencer knocked in two free throws to give Port Clinton a 31-22 lead at halftime.The Flashes owned the third quarter to take control of the game. Aiden Slone hit a 3 and Cam Robinson scored to slice the lead to four points. Later, Paxton scored and Robinson's three-point play cut the margin to 33-32.Port Clinton used buckets from Josh Hurst and Spencer to push the lead back to five points, but Willard scored the last nine points of the quarter for a 41-37 lead after three quarters."Trey came up with some huge rebounds too," said Bedingfield of the senior who scored just seven points in Willard's loss to Port Clinton on Friday. "He had a good weekend even though Friday he didn't play real well. That happens in high school basketball. He is playing really well in different aspects of the game."Hurst and Spencer knocked in 3s to open the fourth quarter for PC, but it was the last lead the Redskins had. Max Dawson nailed two free throws before Paxton's 3-point play gave Willard a 46-43 advantage with 3:53 left.The Flashes used tough defense to make possessions for PC difficult. Paxton scored on a putback to make it a five-point lead before Adam Thorbahn answered for the Redskins. That was the closest Port Clinton got over the final two minutes. Willard, who typically struggles at the free throw line, made 11 of 16 free throws in the final quarter to seal the win."There's no question that free throws have been an issue," Bedingfield said. "It is something you keep working on in practice. You try to rep different ways to go about it. Tonight was much better than we have been shooting."The Flashes came out slow as Port Clinton tallied the first eight points of the game. The Redskins extended the margin to 12-2 on a tally by Hurst and even further at 18-7 after Hurst scored again."We came out with a lot of energy and hit some shots," Port Clinton coach Ryan Hicks said. "We made some adjustments to the 1-3-1 zone, which I think worked alright. Making shots makes such a difference."Paxton wrapped up the first quarter scoring and Robinson opened the second quarter with a 3-point play, but Port Clinton took a 24-14 lead after a triple by Webb.Webb finished with 18 points for PC while Hurst scored 13. The Redskins made just 18 of 46 shots and committed 15 turnovers."I don't think Willard did anything different," Hicks said. "I just think Paxton is really good. I think he settled a little bit Friday because tonight he was trying to take it to the basket. He made some circus shots early that maybe got him going."Robinson backed Dawson's big night with 16 points while Dawson added 13 points."Port Clinton came out playing really well the first game and again tonight," Bedingfield said. "The difference was our kids responded earlier than the first time we played them. I thought defensively we played with a little more energy." WILLARD (10-6, 3-4) Trey Paxton 10-3—23, Max Dawson 3-6—13, Aiden Slone 2-0—6, Cam Robinson 6-4—16. TOTALS 21-13—58. PORT CLINTON (9-5, 3-4) Brayden Spencer 2-2—7, Tyler Webb 6-2—18, Jackson Beasley 2-0—4, Josh Hurst 6-0—13, Adam Thorbahn 2-3—8. TOTALS 18-7—51. Willard 9 13 19 17 — 58 P. Clinton 18 13 6 13 — 51 3-point FGs: (W) Slone 2, Dawson; (PC) Webb 4, Spencer, Hurst, Thorbahn