Willard bounces back in big way

TIFFIN — If you're going to shoot it, shoot it with confidence. That was the simplest of messages Jackson Beamer got from his Willard coaches. With momentum dwindling and Columbian making a run, Beamer made huge shots in the second half for the Crimson Flashes. Twice Beamer drilled 3-pointers to fend off the Tornadoes, helping Willard top Columbian, 65-47, in non-league action Saturday in Tiffin. "I had to bounce back from that game Thursday," said Beamer of a 10-point home league loss to Margaretta in which he scored four points. "I had an awful showing from the three-point line. When the 3s started to fall, I started to rely on it." Beamer had just a 3 to his name as the third quarter was coming to an end. After watching a 22-point lead be cut to 11 at one point, Beamer stepped into a triple to push the Willard (9-1) lead back to 16 points. Columbian (7-3) drew back within 12 points early in the fourth quarter, but Beamer was there for the big shot again. He hit the corner 3 and was also fouled in the process. He made the free throw to give Willard a 50-35 advantage with 7:02 remaining. "Jackson Beamer is a kid that you can't leave open because he is a good shooter," Willard coach Joe Bedingfield said. "He struggled the other night and that's going to happen sometimes. We still told him to keep shooting open shots. That's his role on the team." The Crimson Flashes turned to Max Dawson to finish off Columbian. The Tornadoes got a 3 from Logan Gooding and bucket by Isaac Garcia to slice the deficit to 11 points, but Dawson finished strong. Consecutive buckets by the Ashland-bound senior extended the lead back to 55-40. He added four more points to put the finishing touches on a 27-point outing. His eight points in the fourth quarter came in the final 4:45, about 90 seconds after he picked up a fourth foul. "Max had four fouls and we moved him off (Zach) Shawberry onto a shooter that's a little less aggressive," Bedingfield said. "That kept him in the game. That's going to happen. Sometimes the whistle doesn't go your way." Willard was able to open such a significant lead with how it played in the first half. The Flashes used a 15-1 run over the final 6:32 of the first quarter to lead 17-4. Levi Schag, Beamer, and Dawson hit 3s while Cam Robinson added a three-point play. "I thought that was a focus after Thursday night - we didn't get off to a good start Thursday," Bedingfield said. "We dug ourselves a hole and we talked a lot about that Friday. It was good to see the kids bounce back from a tough league loss." Not much went wrong for Willard in the first half. Buckets by Robinson and Dawson was followed by a triple from Aiden Slone. Willard led 26-8 before committing its first turnover of the game with 3:26 to go until half. The Flashes led 33-13 at halftime. Willard limited Columbian to just 5-of-24 shooting in the first 16 minutes. "I think they were just the tougher and more focused team from the start and that cost us," TC coach Travis Kinn said. "They came out and kind of punched us in the mouth." Garcia paced the Tornadoes with 17 points. Brady Gooding added 10 points and eight rebounds while Bryce Roggow contributed eight points and seven rebounds. "I thought those first eight minutes really hurt us and put us behind the 8-ball tonight," Kinn said. "Credit to Willard for coming in and being ready to go. They bounced back after a tough loss against Margaretta. We weren't ready to play like we needed to be and that's on me." Cam Robinson contributed 17 points and eight rebounds while Isaac Robinson hauled in 13 rebounds. The Flashes finish off their tough three-game stretch when they host Division I Sandusky (7-1) on Tuesday. "Tiffin is a good team," Bedingfield said. "Playing at their place is never easy. Our kids played well tonight." WILLARD (9-1) Levi Schag 1-0—3, Jackson Beamer 3-1—10, Max Dawson 11-4—27, Isaac Robinson 2-0—5, Cam Robinson 7-1—15, Aiden Slone 1-0—3, Mason Dawson 0-2—2. TOTALS 25-8—65. TIFFIN COLUMBIAN (7-3) Brady Gooding 4-0—10, Zach Shawberry 0-1—1, Bryce Roggow 2 3—8, Isaac Garcia 7-3—17, Jack Newlove 1-3—5, Logan Gooding 2-0—6. TOTALS 16-10—47. Willard 17 16 14 18 — 65 Columbian 4 9 17 17 — 47 3-point FGs: (W) Beamer 3, Schag, I. Robinson, Max Dawson, Slone; (TC) B. Gooding 2, L. Gooding 2