Willard tops Edison to clinch SBC Bay title share

MILAN — For three years, it was by name only. Willard senior Alex Strayer has been a member of the boys basketball team during a successful stretch during his high school years. But injuries have kept him from seriously contributing to Willard's success — until this season. As one of two seniors in uniform, Strayer finished with six points and 10 rebounds and helped the Crimson Flashes to an 82-62 win at Edison Friday night. With the win, the Flashes improved to 13-8 overall and 8-1 in the SBC Bay Division, which give them at least a share of the conference title. It marks the fourth league championship in the six seasons the program has been in the SBC. "I've been a part of it, but I've been hurt for most of it," Strayer said. "Coach (Joe) Bedingfield and all our coaches do a great job of putting us in position to win a league championship, and we've worked hard every day to reach this outcome." Strayer also knows one big reason the Flashes reached no worse than a title share this season. He gets to pass the ball and help set up one of the best guards in the state in Division III. Junior Max Dawson was again dominant for Willard, as he finished with 38 points on 14-of-20 shooting (70 percent). Dawson eclipsed the 500-point mark for the season in the win, becoming the 16th player in program history to do so. With over 1,100 points in three seasons, Dawson has scored the third-most points through a junior season at Willard. "That's my guy," Strayer said. "He puts in the work more than anyone I know. He deserves every single point he scores, and on top of that, he's a great teammate and leader. "I just love having him around … I think we all do." Edison (3-17, 0-9) had been playing much better in recent weeks, notably at home. The Chargers trailed just 17-15 with just under two minutes left in the opening quarter on a 3-pointer from Jack Brown. But Willard closed the quarter with six straight points — four by Strayer and two by Dawson — for some breathing room and a 23-15 lead after one. "We knew we had to take Edison serious," Strayer said. "They've been playing better for a while now. They played Margaretta tough last week, so we weren't going to treat them any differently. We knew we had to take care of business." Willard went on an 8-0 run early in the second quarter, with Dawson and Cam Robinson each scoring four points. Leading 31-19, the Flashes then scored seven straight points to open up a 38-19 lead at the 4:43 mark. Cam Robinson, senior Braydon Thompson and Isaac Robinson all scored during the stretch — then Dawson took over. Averaging 23.6 points per contest entering Friday, Dawson scored the final nine points of the second quarter for the Crimson Flashes, outscoring Edison 9-8 as they opened up a 47-29 lead at halftime. Dawson and Thompson went back-to-back to open the third, followed by a three-point play and a fourth 3-pointer from Dawson for a 57-34 lead at the 4:52 mark. "It was an odd situation and feel to it sometimes tonight, because I thought we played very average — and we were still able to get it done," Bedingfield said. "Credit to our kids. I think in the back of their minds, they know they want an outright title and they are going to have to earn it next week." Though Bedingfield didn't think his team was above average in all areas, the Flashes were efficient on offense with 82 points and nine turnovers in the 32 minutes. "We did take some good shots," he said. "But defensively we didn't communicate at times on our switches and left open some of their shooters. Edison has been playing really well and Kyle (Hammond) is doing a good job with his young kids. "They've been playing well in the second half of the season, and we just didn't switch right at times," he added. "Defensively, we weren't as good as we needed to be if we want to do something in the tournament." The stage is now set for the Flashes to host Huron (14-4, 7-2) in the regular season finale next week. Willard can claim the league title outright with a win, while the Tigers need a victory to force a co-title. The Tigers claimed a 50-37 win in the first meeting on Jan. 6 in Huron. But after Friday, the Flashes are 38-13 (.745) in Bay Division play over the past five seasons. In the defunct Northern Ohio League, Willard was a dynasty with 25 league championships in a 57-year span. Now, with four titles in the past six years, the Flashes have another good start in the SBC, and it started with another strong showing by Dawson on Friday. "Max is also very unselfish," Bedingfield said. "Not only is he our go-to guy, but he's going to always make the right play. He took a lot of high percentage shots and didn't force anything. "Here is a high school kid with 38 points who made one excellent pass to a teammate and gave up a chance at 40, which says a lot about him as a player and a person," he added. "That is why our team is successful, because we make the plays like that and we have good chemistry." Robinson added 20 points for Willard. For Edison, Davin Wendt scored 15 points, followed by Brown with 14. Luke Blatnik added 13 and Troy Rutherford scored 11. The Chargers host Danbury (11-9) on Tuesday. WILLARD (12-8, 8-1) Levi Schag 1-0—2; Jackson Beamer 2-1—5; Max Dawson 13-7—38; Isaac Robinson 2-3—7; Cam Robinson 9-1—20; Braydon Thompson 2-0—4; Alex Strayer 3-0—6. TOTALS 32-12—82. EDISON (3-17, 0-9) Jack Brown 6-3—14; Davin Wendt 5-2—15; Kayden Bourget 3-0—7; Luke Blatnik 4-2—13; Bryson Witter 1-0—2; Troy Rutherford 5-0—11. TOTALS 22-7—62. Willard 23 24 23 12 — 82 Edison 15 14 18 15 — 62 3-point FGs: (W) Dawson 5, C. Robinson; (E) Blatnik 3, Wendt 3, Brown 3, Bourget, Rutherford. JV: Willard, 40-29, 2OT.