Willard pulls away from Perkins to advance

WILLARD — Max Dawson knew he had to make a play. Perkins was holding for the last shot of the first half and Willard was clinging to a one-point lead. Instead of watching the Pirates possibly take the lead, Dawson picked a steal and turned that into a three-point play to put the Crimson Flashes up four points at halftime. "I wanted to get some momentum going into halftime," Dawson said. "I just wanted to make a play." Third-seeded Willard took that momentum into the second half and stormed away from the sixth-seeded Pirates, 52-44, in a Division II sectional final at Willard High School on Friday. "I think Max did a phenomenal job of running the offense," Willard coach Joe Bedingfield said. "I thought we did a nice job of shortening our passing angles. We didn't turn the ball over a lot in the second half, I don't think. Our kids were tough." The Flashes improved to 19-4 and will face second-seeded Lexington (21-2) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Ontario High School in a district semifinal. "I thought collectively that was probably one of the best performances of half-court defense that we've had all year," Bedingfield said. "That's the right time to do it." Dawson's heads-up play potentially shifted a plethora of momentum for Willard. It was a part of a big 28-point night for the senior, playing in his last home game. The Flashes lost last Friday to Shelby in what was considered Senior Night for Dawson and his classmates. There was no better way to step off the home floor one last time than with a win. "That was the message before the game," Dawson said. "Win or lose, it was going to be us seniors' last game on this floor. That's really special for us because we've played here for so long." Perkins (16-8) got the first score of the second half, but Isaac Robinson and Dawson each answered with buckets to go up 25-18. After Mikey Young tallied a score for the Pirates, a three-point play by Cam Robinson ballooned the advantage to 30-20. Perkins was done in by a tough shooting night. The Pirates made just 18-of-48 shots including 2-of-12 in the third quarter. "I give credit to coach Bedingfield and Willard," Perkins coach Eric Kochendoerfer said. "I've watched a lot of film going into this game and that was the best defensive performance I've seen them give all year. Hats off to them. We just didn't shoot the basketball well." Defending Dawson was priority No. 1 for the Pirates. Dawson is headed to Ashland University and will likely garner high all-Ohio honors this season. He sits third all-time in scoring at Willard High School behind Nick Dials and Jimmy Langhurst. "Max Dawson is an all-Ohio player for a reason," Kochendoerfer said. "He's going to Ashland University for a reason. For us, we wanted him to get his average. He averaged 26 points coming in here and he had 28. We know great players get their points. "Big players make big plays in big moments. He made the big play when he needed to." Willard was up 32-24 when Cam Robinson wrapped up the scoring in the third quarter. Dawson added the first five points of the fourth quarter to put the Flashes ahead 39-24. Perkins finally got going from 3 in the fourth quarter. After missing all eight triples in the first three quarters, the Pirates hit four 3-pointers in the final five minutes. Brennan Koelsch's 3 cut the lead to 39-29, but Isaac Robinson scored and Dawson made two free throws. Consecutive buckets by Tim Boals and a triple from Weston Sturzinger sliced the Willard lead to just 43-36 with 2:07 to play, but Perkins was still behind the 8-ball. Seven points was all the closer the Pirates got. Dawson knocked down two free throws before Cam Robinson tallied a bucket and two free throws to make it 50-38 with 46 seconds left. "Max is a special kid," Bedingfield said. "He works really hard and does a lot for us when we need him to. He always steps up and that's a credit to his work ethic." Willard scored the first seven points of the game as Perkins didn't get on the board until the 3:01 mark of the first quarter. The Flashes were up just 7-5 when Isaac Robinson and Cam Robinson each scored before Dawson hit a 3 at the buzzer. That gave Willard a 14-5 lead after one quarter, but the Flashes couldn't find the spot in the second quarter. Willard limped to just seven points in the second quarter while the Pirates picked it up. Perkins drew as close as 18-17 on a jumper by Joey Deiderich and steal and score by Brady Legando. "Aiden Slone doesn't maybe make the headlines, but I thought he did a phenomenal job of guarding Mikey Young, who has been playing really, really well," Bedingfield said. "Perkins is a very good basketball team and we knew we'd have our hands full. I couldn't be prouder of the job our guys did." Willard topped Perkins earlier this season, 65-58, way back on Dec. 8 at home. "We watched the film and watched who they guarded," Bedingfield said. "I think they're a totally different team. Credit coach Kochendoerfer and his staff because they had a late start and they're such a different team - they're a better team than the first time we played them." Boals led the Pirates with 16 points and nine rebounds. Sturzinger added nine points. "I have so much respect for the young men I have on my team," Kochendoerfer said. "They never once gave up. They battled hard for all 32 minutes. I literally think that's a big reason why this program is turning around." Kaiden Nixon, Noah Normington-Slay, Koelsch, and Cam Fosco are seniors for Perkins. "In order to get to the top of the mountain, you have to climb the mountain," Kochendoerfer said. "The last two years we've been climbing, each year higher and higher. A lot of that is from our four seniors. One thing is a few of them probably didn't play or have the role they expected, but never once did I hear a complaint from them or any parents." Cam Robinson added 13 points for Willard while Isaac Robinson hauled in 12 rebounds. The Flashes lost to Lexington last season in a sectional final by two points, 58-56. "Our kids are excited to get another opportunity to get back to the district," Bedingfield said. "We fell short last year. We'll be ready for Thursday, that's for sure." PERKINS (16-8) Mikey Young 1-1—4 , Weston Sturzinger 3-1—9, Joey Deiderich 1-2—4, Tim Boals 8-0—16, Brennan Koelsch 2-0—5, Levi Groot 1-0—2, Brady Legando 1-0-—2, Sam Schweinfurth 1-0—3. TOTALS 18-4—44. WILLARD (19-4) Jackson Beamer 1-1—3, Aiden Slone 1-0—2, Max Dawson 10-6—28, Isaac Robinson 3-0—6, Cam Robinson 5-3—13. TOTALS 20-10—52. Perkins 5 12 7 20 — 44 Willard 14 7 13 18 — 52 3-point FGs: (PR) Sturzinger 2, Koelsch, Schweinfurth; (W) Dawson 2