Margaretta pushes past Willard for first place

CASTALIA — The opportunity was there for Keiygan Morris. The Margaretta senior was on the court as the Polar Bears watched a 14-point lead nearly evaporate. Leading Willard by just three points in the fourth quarter, Morris hit a 3-pointer, perhaps the biggest shot of the night for Margaretta. The Division V No. 4 Polar Bears never led by fewer than five points the rest of the way, topping the Crimson Flashes 67-55 in a key Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division matchup. "I knew my teammates trusted me to shoot it," Morris said. "Tyson (Bailey) found me and I kind of blacked out. I knocked it down." Margaretta (11-1, 5-0 SBC Bay) took a 46-40 lead into the fourth quarter. Judah Keller extended it just seven seconds in before Jaxson Hall scored for the Flashes. Hall added a pair of 3s as Willard (9-2, 4-1) drew within 50-48. Kale Bailey made a pair of free throws for Margaretta, but Kaleb Weaver answered on the other end for the Flashes. Julian Washington then scored for the Polar Bears and Margaretta led 54-51 when Willard coach Joe Bedingfield used a timeout. Morris was open on the left side out of the timeout and nailed the 3-pointer to double the Polar Bears' lead. "Huge shot. Keiygan can play," Margaretta coach Steve Keller said. "He shot it with confidence. We have confidence in him. It was a big momentum swing there as they were making a run." That gave Margaretta the spark it needed the final four minutes. Keller scored to make it 59-51 before Hall responded with a three-point play for Willard. Ahead just five, the Polar Bears scored the next six points to put the game away. Keller knocked in two free throws before buckets from Washington and Tyson Bailey gave Margaretta a 65-54 lead with 1:48 to play. "Our young pups showed that they can play," Bedingfield said. "Margaretta has an experienced, winning team. I think they did a good job of what they do down the stretch. They share the ball. They're an unselfish team. We'll learn from it. "I told our guys I was very proud of them for how they came out and competed. We are in no way satisfied with the outcome." Hall nearly brought Willard back himself. The sophomore was scoreless in the first quarter before scoring four points in the second quarter. He pumped in 22 points in the second half, finishing the night with 26. "Jaxson is a kid that's going to get better," Bedingfield said. "He definitely works at it. The thing is, he had a hot night and he averages about that anyway. He's also a kid that when he's feeling it, we start calling some sets for him. He wanted the ball. In a big game, that's a good sign for a sophomore." It was a fast start that aided Margaretta early. Morris hit a 3 before Keller scored on a putback. Triples from Washington and Keller gave the Polar Bears a 13-2 lead. After JJ Bedingfield scored for Willard, Washington canned a 3 and Keller scored to make it 18-4. "We got behind the 8-ball," coach Bedingfield said. "I thought we were trying to come out and shoot with them right away instead of working the offense a little more. They do have some experience, but I think once we settled in and hit some shots, we played well." Willard did get going offensively. After scoring four points the first 6:25 of the game, the Flashes scored on five straight possessions. The Polar Bears withstood the run and took a 30-18 lead on a score from Keller and the Bears led 33-25 at halftime when Washington zooming the length of the court after a turnover and hit a running 3 near the buzzer. "That was big," said coach Keller of Washington's 3. "That was an elite shot. You can't guard that shot. It's either make or miss and, fortunately, it was make at the buzzer. It was big. Any points are big." Washington carried the momentum into the second half, scoring on the Polar Bears' first two possessions. Hall heated up, scoring 11 points in the third quarter. Down 46-34, he tallied the last six points of the quarter for Willard. "He's good," coach Keller said. "He was hitting shots in the paint. He was hitting shots at the arc. That's with a 6-foot-5 contest with Julian guarding him. I liked how our guys stayed the course. I liked how we stayed aggressive." Dawson scored 12 points for Willard while Bedingfield added eight. The Flashes go from their biggest league rival in Margaretta to hosting perhaps their biggest rival Saturday when Shelby (6-2) comes to town. "I think we're excited about it," coach Bedingfield said. "I think that's how it should be. It's a tough weekend. It was a good league game on the road tonight. This is part of high school sports. How do you bounce back? We do have a very good team in Shelby coming in. "We had to make it up from their football run and we like to play on a Saturday night or a Friday night. This one worked out." Washington matched Hall with 26 points. Keller added 17 points while Tyson Bailey had eight. The two teams rematch Feb. 13 in Willard with what could be big stakes on the line if both teams take care of business. WILLARD (9-2, 4-1) Kaleb Weaver 2-0—4, Jaxson Hall 10-3—26, Mason Dawson 4-3—12, JJ Bedingfield 3-0—8, Gage Stover 2-0—4, Eli Keefe 0-1—1. TOTALS 21-7—55. MARGARETTA (11-1, 5-0) Kale Bailey 2-2—6, Keiygan Morris 2-0—6, Julian Washington 10-3—26, Judah Keller 7-2—17, Tyson Bailey 4-0—8, Jake Bouy 2-0—4. TOTALS 27-7—67. Willard 12 13 15 15 — 55 Margaretta 22 11 13 21 — 67 3-point FGs: (W) Hall 3, Bedingfield 2, Dawson; (M) Washington 3, Morris 2, Keller.