Willard clinches share of SBC Bay title

WILLARD — Everything felt inevitable. From the start, there was almost little chance the state-ranked Willard boys basketball team could shoot as well as it did in a stunning 77-39 rout at Margaretta on Feb. 16. That win put the Crimson Flashes — ranked No. 9 in this week's Division II Associated Press poll — into a first-place tie atop the SBC Bay Division with the AP Div. III No. 6 Polar Bears (18-3, 8-1). However, Tuesday's league game against visiting Vermilion also saw the Flashes lead for the final 30-plus minutes. Despite it being tight early in the third quarter, eventually the duo of standouts Max Dawson and Cam Robinson paced the Flashes to a 77-61 win inside Robert L. Haas Gymnasium. With the win, Willard (18-3, 9-1) clinched at least a share of a fifth SBC Bay title over the past six seasons. Margaretta entertains Edison on Friday with its chance to finish as co-champions. The game was also a precursor to Friday's regular season finale vs. rival Shelby (19-2) — the No. 2-ranked team in the AP poll and the top seed in the same district as the Flashes. "We didn't want to get caught looking ahead to anything," Robinson said after he scored 28 points. "We knew this was a championship game and that Vermilion was capable of shooting it the way they did. We just had to take it one possession at a time and were able to come out victorious. The league title is No. 30 in the steep history of the Flashes' program. "I give credit to all the players before us," Robinson said. "They showed what it takes to be a champion. My freshman year I was on the scout team and they showed me what it took. I tried to apply that to everything after that — and it worked out." Willard led the Sailors (6-16, 4-6) by just five points (37-32) at halftime. Vermilion was able to trade blows with the Flashes behind the strength of six 3-pointers in the first half. When leading scorer AJ Gerber scored to open the third quarter for the Sailors, it was just a 37-34 lead. And then Dawson and Robinson took control. Robinson got things going with four straight points, then it was Dawson's turn to follow with three quick points to push the lead up to 44-34 at the 5:53 mark. After Vermilion's Riley Kearns stopped the bleeding, the game went under a double-digit lead just once the rest of the way after Dawson answered at the other end with a quick pull-up jumper. He scored again 30 seconds later to extend the lead to 48-36. Leading 50-41, Dawson scored and was fouled. But when he missed the foul shot, Isaac Robinson was there for the rebound and score to put Willard ahead 54-41 with 3:23 left in the third. With Willard up 56-45, Dawson and Cam Robinson closed the quarter with two baskets to end the third quarter for a 60-45 lead. All doubt was removed with Dawson and Jackson Beamer stringing together six quick points in the first minute of the fourth quarter. When Isaac Robinson made a 3 and Dawson scored transition with 3:38 left, the Flashes had built a 75-53 lead. "It means a ton," Dawson said of another league title after he scored a game-high 33 points on 14-of-22 shooting. "When I came in as a freshman there was already a rich tradition obviously, and we wanted to keep that going as we grew up. "We saw a great senior class when we were freshmen," he added. "They set the tone for us, and we just wanted to kind of take it from where they left off." The Sailors were able to avoid the game getting away from them multiple times throughout the first half. Willard took an 11-3 lead on a 9-0 scoring run in the first quarter, with Dawson scoring consecutive baskets, followed by a 3 from Aiden Slone and a steal and layup from Cam Robinson. The Sailors got a basket from Wyatt German to end the opening quarter to stay within range at 18-10. Dawson and Isaac Robinson scored back-to-back to push the lead to 22-12 at the 6:58 mark of the second, but Gerber hit consecutive 3s for the Sailors, as they trailed 25-19 with 6:08 left in the half. Cam Robinson then converted a three-point play to make it 32-22 with 4:16 left, but again the Sailors got a 3 from Caleb German to again stay close. It again appeared Willard was back in control when Dawson scored five quick points, including a 3-pointer, to push the lead up to 37-25 with 3:31 left in the half. But the Sailors closed the half strong with seven straight points, including yet another 3, this time from Caleb German. Riley Kearns scored the last basket of the half with 42.8 seconds left to make it a 37-32 halftime deficit. Isaac Robinson added nine points and 11 rebounds for the Flashes, who are now 125-35 overall and 51-14 in the Bay Division during this six-year stretch. "Vermilion was playing better of late, so it was a little bit of a game we knew we had to win at home, but then we got a little complacent in the second quarter," Willard head coach Joe Bedingfield said. "And credit Vermilion for knocking down shots when we did. "In the second half, our kids were able to push the ball and secure rebounds better. Obviously Max and Cam are special, and Isaac played really well tonight. Our senior class is special, and I credit those guys for getting this team ready to play tonight between Margaretta and Shelby." Bedingfield was appreciative of his coaching staff and "great" players during this title run. "The nice part about it is it's not one class," he said. "They saw others before them. Now, our young guys here tonight need to look at our seniors cutting down the nets and say 'that's what I want to do.' "Winning breeds winning, and hopefully this continues to push kids to want to work hard." VERMILION (6-16, 4-6) Caleb German 2-0—5; Dom DiFucci 2-0—5; Brock Myers 2-3—9; Riley Kearns 3-3—9; Thomas Ngure 2-0—5; AJ Gerber 7-0—18; Collin Angney 1-1—3; Wyatt German 3-0—7. TOTALS 22-7—61. WILLARD (18-3, 9-1) Jackson Beamer 1-2—4; Aiden Slone 1-0—3; Max Dawson 14-1—33; Isaac Robinson 3-2—9; Cam Robinson 12-3—28. TOTALS 31-8—77. Vermilion 10 22 13 16 — 61 Willard 18 19 23 17 — 77 3-point FGs: (V) Gerber 4, Myers, C. German, DiFucci, Nauru, W. German; (W) Dawson 4, Slone, I. Robinson, C. Robinson JV: Willard, 49-28