Dawson reaches 1,000 points as Willard stays alone in first

PORT CLINTON — In a game where he eclipsed the 1,000-point mark, Willard junior Max Dawson's biggest play might have been on defense. Dawson stole an inbounds pass on Willard's side of the court with 32.2 seconds to play as Port Clinton, down by three points, was trying to tie the game. Dawson did miss the front end of a 1-and-1, but he didn't miss his next two free throws with 25.9 seconds to play, which came after a technical foul was called on the Redskins' Nolan Chambers. The free throws put the Flashes up by five points, and the SBC Bay Division leaders went on to win 53-48. Willard improved to 9-8 overall and 6-1 in the SBC Bay with the win. The Crimson Flashes host Oak Harbor on Feb. 3 and travel to Edison on Feb. 10 before hosting Huron on Feb. 17 to close out league play. "I think it was kind of a physical game. Port Clinton has played some good teams really well," said Willard coach Joe Bedingfield. "We knew it would be a four-quarter game. They did a nice job of taking away our gaps. They tend to rebound a little bit better than we do. We did just enough to get the win." Redskins forward Adam Thorbahn, one of the league's best players, was held to 10 points as Isaac Robinson made him work for everything. "Isaac Robinson did a really good job of holding Adam Thorbahn to 10 points," Bedingfield said. "He did a nice job of holding his ground. It's a team effort, too. "I told Adam after the game that I'm not going to be sad that he's graduating because he has given us a lot of problems over the years." Bedingfield also credited Dawson, who had a game-high 22 points, for his play throughout the game. "I thought Max did a great job of focusing on the game," Bedingfield said. "Max is a gym rat. He's done so much by himself to get better. It's a credit to him and all the hard work he's put in to get to 1,000 points as a junior." The Flashes led 27-22 at halftime and held that lead throughout the second half, even though Port Clinton (6-7, 3-4) got within one point on five separate occasions in both the third and fourth quarters. Trailing 34-30 late in the third quarter, Owen Auxter hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one, but Alex Strayer responded by scoring on a layup before Jackson Beasley hit a floater to get the deficit back to one just before the end of the quarter. The Redskins just couldn't get over the hump. It was back and forth in the fourth quarter, and James Crowe's 3-pointer from the right corner with 1:27 remaining cut the lead to 47-46, but Dawson got a blocking foul called on Cam Gillum with 43 seconds to play that drew the ire of the crowd. Dawson hit both free throws, pushing the lead to three points, and on the other end of the floor, he stole that inbounds pass with 32 seconds. But Dawson missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Nolan Chambers drew a foul on Dawson, only to push him after the play, drawing a technical foul and giving the ball back to the Flashes. Dawson hit four free throws, the final coming with 0.8 seconds, that were sandwiched around a basket by Auxter as Port Clinton ran out of time. The milestone was achieved by Dawson, who came in with 994 career points, with 5:47 to play in the second quarter after he converted on a drive with his left hand to give the Flashes a 15-14 lead and get him to 1,001 points. The game was stopped momentarily to recognize the accomplishment. With the milestone, Dawson is the 12th player in Willard program history to reach 1,000 career points. He joins Jimmy Langhurst, Nick Dials, Noland Robinson, Mike Buurma, John Willoughby, Connor Robinson, Joel Guth, Rex Adams, Cooper Parrott, Terry Baldridge and Trey Paxton. Oddly enough, after scoring Willard's first five points in the game's early stage, Dawson had four shots rim out. Like any good veteran, Dawson focused on the game and didn't try to force anything. "It was in the back of my mind that this was a pretty big game," Dawson said. "On the road in Port Clinton, it's a tough place to play." Dawson talked about getting the achievement behind him. "I wasn't really nervous," he said. "I just wanted to get it over with and get it out of the way." Teammate Cam Robinson had a strong game, scoring 15 points and coming up with some key baskets throughout the contest. "Cam Robinson got us going," Bedingfield said. "He hit some big shots." It is the fourth straight loss for the Redskins. "It was a battle. We kept it close and gave ourselves a chance, but we had a couple of mistakes," said Port Clinton coach Ryan Hicks. "The technical foul was probably the nail in the coffin. We just didn't make enough winning plays. "We've got to be more consistent. We need more balanced scoring. We have some guys that play the whole game and don't score much. There were a couple of charge calls that went against us." Beasley led Port Clinton with 16 points and Auxter finished with 15. In the first quarter, PC went on a 10-4 run after falling behind 7-4, getting baskets from Beasley, Auxter and Cam Gillum to take a 14-11 lead into the second quarter. WILLARD (9-8, 6-1) Max Dawson 6 9—22; Isaac Robinson 2 0—5; Cam Robinson 7 0—15; Braydon Thompson 1 0—2; Alex Strayer 4 0—9. Totals 20 9—53. PORT CLINTON (6-7, 3-4) James Crowe 1 0—3; Jackson Beasley 7 2—16; Owen Auxter 6 1—15; Cam Gillum 2 0—4; Adam Thorbahn 5 0—10. Totals 21-3—48. Willard 11 18 9 17 — 53 P. Clinton 14 8 13 13 — 48 3-point FGs: (W) Strayer, Dawson, I. Robinson, C. Robinson; (PC) Auxter 2; Crowe.