Margaretta overwhelms Willard for outright title

WILLARD — Margaretta played like it was on a mission. The Polar Bears had already won a share of the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division championship, but had no intentions of sharing it Friday. Division V No. 5 Margaretta got career-highs from Kale Bailey and Keiygan Morris, topping Willard 90-45 at Bob Haas Gymnasium to win the outright league title. Bailey knocked down six 3-pointers to score 32 points. He had four triples in the third quarter alone as the Polar Bears (18-3, 10-0 SBC Bay) pulled away and put the game into a running clock. Morris was explosive from deep, as well. He made five 3s, scoring 21 points on the night. Margaretta led just 11-8 late in the first quarter. With Julian Washington on the bench with two early fouls, a 3 from Morris gave the Polar Bears a six-point lead after one quarter. Washington returned to the floor and it was the right call for Margaretta. With the 6-5 University of Dayton signee drawing major attention, others were able to step up and attack. Judah Keller scored before Bailey made it 18-10. Washington turned a steal into a bucket for Morris. Later, Morris and Bailey each made 3s to make it 26-14. Willard (17-3, 8-2) really had no answer for the Margaretta offense as four straight points from Keller made it 36-17. Jaxson Hall tallied a three-point play for the Crimson Flashes, but Bailey scored and Morris' triple made it 41-20 at halftime. Margaretta was even more impressive in the second half. After a slow start to the third quarter, the Polar Bears got their offensive train going. In a 60-second span, Margaretta used a 7-0 run to go up 52-24. Two straight triples from Bailey pushed the advantage to 58-26 and later, Keller scored to make it 60-32. The Polar Bears then scored 10 points in the final 1:20 of the quarter. Bailey and Morris drained 3-pointers around buckets from Tyson Bailey and Kale Bailey. That gave Margaretta a 70-35 edge after three quarters. Even with the running clock, the Polar Bears' offense was good down the stretch. Tyson Bailey scored on back-to-back possessions to open the fourth quarter. Morris added his last 3 for a 79-40 lead with 4:10 to go. Senior Rob Cox entered and scored 11 points late, including three more triples for Margaretta. It was that kind of night for the Polar Bears. "They're one of the best teams in the state for a reason," Willard coach Joe Bedingfield said. "They share the ball really well and they pressure you really well in the full-court. I thought they sped us up a little bit early and got us out of sync. We still have a lot of young guys that haven't played in a championship environment. They have a very experienced team." Margaretta has now won 21 straight league games since Willard decimated the Polar Bears inside the Iceberg two seasons ago. Willard won that night, 77-39, but Margaretta hasn't been touched since. "It kind of reminded me of their place a couple years ago," Bedingfield said. "I thought they were more physical and did a nice job of getting out in transition. We have to take this as a learning experience for our young guys. Hopefully they can learn and grow. It's unfortunate because it was a big game." Hall paced Willard with 22 points. The Crimson Flashes were able to get to the foul line in the first half, but it was far from enough on this night. Willard wraps up the regular season with games at Ontario on Tuesday and at home against Bellevue next Friday. "Our end of the season schedule is tough for a reason," Bedingfield said. "You look at the tournament with Genoa and Margaretta and they're state-ranked. You have to be ready for a challenge and see what your kids are made of. There's no time to hang your head and feel sorry for yourself." MARGARETTA (18-3, 10-0) Kale Bailey 13-0—32, Keiygan Morris 8-0—21, Julian Washington 2-2—7, Judah Keller 5-1—11, Tyson Bailey 4-0—8, Rob Cox 4-0—11. TOTALS 36-3—90. WILLARD (17-3, 8-2) Kaleb Weaver 1-0—3, Jaxson Hall 6-6—22, Mason Dawson 2-4—10, JJ Bedingfield 1 4—7, Gage Tackett 1-0—3. TOTALS 11-14—45. Margaretta 14 27 29 20 — 90 Willard 8 12 15 10 — 45 Three-point FGs: (M) K. Bailey 6, Morris 5, Cox 3, Washington; (W) Hall 4, Dawson 2, Weaver, Bedingfield, Tackett.