BASKETBALL: Sosa expected back; looking at stat growth, clinching scenarios

CASTALIA — Margaretta has its point guard back. Senior Cameron Sosa is expected to return to game action Thursday against Old Fort (11-3) after a nine-game absence. "I'm very excited," Sosa said Tuesday night. The Polar Bears (11-6 overall, 4-3 SBC Bay) were 6-3 with Sosa out as a young lineup had even more opportunity for growth. They started two freshmen (Judah Keller, Julian Washington) and a sophomore (Tate Bailey) during those nine games. Washington stood out in two of the recent wins, hitting a buzzer beater to beat Monroeville and recording two blocks late in regulation of an overtime win at Genoa. Keller just scored a career-high 27 points in a Saturday night win at Clyde, and senior Evan Miller added 18 points to help beat the Fliers. "It's definitely been tough to be out," Sosa said. "But my guys held down the fort while I was gone... It was definitely beneficial a little bit for them." Sosa has had just a few days of practice to get back up to speed, Margaretta coach Steve Keller said. On the season, Sosa is averaging 12.8 points per game and shooting 40.6 percent from 3-point range with 3.6 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 2.3 assists per contest. The Polar Bears' loss last week to Huron likely eliminated Margaretta from the chance to defend its league title, so their attention has turned to repeating as district champions. Sosa and senior forward Hayden Wiley are the two players on this year's team who started in last year's district final. "We'd like to make a run in the tournament and hopefully win back-to-back district championships," Sosa said. Major statistical improvements A look through this area's statistical leaderboards shows some players who were nowhere to be found in the same space a year ago. These are some of the players who have shown major statistical growth during the 2022-23 basketball season: If your name is Brayden or Braedyn, you're getting buckets in the SBC Lake Division this season. Clyde's Brayden Olson is at 18.9 points per game after scoring 19 total varsity points last season. Norwalk's Braedyn Demuth, after beating Hodgkin's Lymphoma, is at 15.1 points per game. And Columbian's Brayden Roggow has doubled his average from 7.2 points to 13.5 points per game. Huron's Caylin McCormick is the SBC Bay Division's leading girls rebounder (9.4 per game) averaged less than half that (4.6 per game) as a junior. She also frequently precedes her own home games with a powerful rendition of the national anthem. Port Clinton junior Jackson Beasley is putting up 14.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game this season, about two-and-a-half times what he did as a sophomore (6.4/3.0). As a sophomore and junior combined, Clyde's Lexi Carlson scored 113 points at the varsity level. As a senior, she has poured in 176 points, including three recent games of 20 or more points, with an average of 11.0 per game. Danbury's Maci Brown was mostly a JV player as a freshman — when she got into varsity games, it was with the un-point-guard-like No. 52. But she's No. 11 now as a full-time varsity starter and has stuffed the stat sheet with 4.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.4 steals per game. SBC clinching scenarios The Sandusky Bay Conference races have hit the stretch run, and pretty soon teams can start clinching league championships. Starting with the boys SBC Lake Division, Sandusky (8-1 Lake) can clinch a share of the title with two more wins. The Blue Streaks (at Clyde Thursday) will need to win out for an outright crown if second place Bellevue (6-2 Lake) doesn't lose again, although if the Redmen slip up, Sandusky can clinch sooner. In the boys SBC Bay, Willard (6-1 Bay) has a similar lead over Huron (5-2 Bay). The Flashes host the Tigers on Feb. 17, the final day of the league season, in what could be a battle for an outright or shared championship. Tiffin Calvert (9-1 River) and Hopewell-Loudon (9-1 River) are tied in the boys SBC River Division, with Old Fort (9-2 River) right behind. That title could come down to the finish line, although it'll take shape sooner. H-L plays Calvert on Thursday night. The girls SBC Lake currently features Bellevue and Norwalk tied at the top at 8-1 in the league, and if they each win their next two games, they'll play for the championship on Feb. 9 in Norwalk. Margaretta's girls have the soonest clinching scenario. The Polar Bears (7-0) secure a share of the SBC Bay Division championship by defeating Edison on Friday night. If Huron beats Port Clinton simultaneously, Margaretta would be outright champs. A PC win over Huron means the Polar Bears could take the repeat outright title by beating Port Clinton the following week. In the girls SBC River Division, Lakota (9-1 River) is two games ahead in the loss column. The Raiders are chasing their first league title since 1998, and they can avenge their only league defeat and all but secure the title with a win over Hopewell-Loudon on Friday.