Edison snaps long league losing streak

MILAN — Edison knew it had been awhile. None of these Chargers were in high school the last time this program won an SBC Bay Division game. One of their main preseason goals was to change that. And on Friday night, on an evening when most games in the area were postponed, Edison didn't just play. For the first time since Feb. 8, 2019, the Chargers notched a league victory. "Coming into the season, we all made goal sheets, and a lot of our goals were to compete in the SBC better," junior guard Luke Blatnik said. "In the first half, we didn't do that very well. But it's a good start to the second half, start on a good note and get this thing rolling." The skid-snapping tally was 55-50 Edison over Vermilion. In a game with four separate ties in the fourth quarter, the Chargers (3-11, 1-5) proved they could win. With it, a 48-game losing streak in league play was over. "I came into this job knowing there was a lot of work to do," Edison coach Dan Campana said. "I didn't want to put pressure on with that. I wanted to change the guy's mentality, change the maturity, change the locker room, change the energy in practice. That is what we've done, and this is just the icing on the cake, the cherry on top." The Chargers had nearly gotten it done at Vermilion earlier this season, losing in double overtime. The Sailors, freshly down to the Bay Division this season, were new to the streak that more frequently had included Margaretta, Willard, Huron, Port Clinton and Oak Harbor. No matter. A league win is a league win, and Edison set out Friday night to get one. "Tight game early in the year, lost in double overtime," Campana said. "This was a redemption game." Early on, it wasn't pretty for either side. The game was 4-4 after six minutes. Edison eventually closed the half on a 9-5 run, with a Blatnik 3-pointer sending the Chargers to the break up 18-14. "Offensively we were struggling, but defensively we played very well," Blatnik said. Blatnik had eight points and four rebounds before the intermission, with two of the buckets coming on the offensive glass as the sturdy point guard found his way in between players to snag the ball and score. "This is his third year starting, and he fits the emotional bill," Campana said. "I've been working with him a lot, and he responded. Over the last two games, he's really stepped up as a leader." Kayden Bourget sparked Edison out of halftime. The Chargers' leading scorer shot 1-for-6 in the first half, then got buckets on the first two possessions of the third quarter. He cut backdoor for a Luke Whiley feed for a layup, then drilled a left corner 3. "As aggressive as they were being, we needed to attack more," Campana said. "He's still gonna shoot some, that's fine, he's a good shooter. He really came forth and showed he could be a leader." When Blatnik banked a 3-pointer a few minutes later to go back up nine, it seemed like it might really be Edison's night. And then when Blatnik dove to save a loose ball, fed a stumbling Grayson Smith, and Smith somehow converted an and-1? Really looking like Edison's night. "We just got more confidence playing offense," Campana said. "We've had struggles where teams go on runs, and that's a mental aspect that we've been working on." A Bourget three-point play, and a Coltyn Meagrow fadeaway, stretched the margin to 13 later in the third before Vermilion turned it into a thriller. Thomas Ngure started the comeback with a three-point play, then a 3-pointer, before Brock Meyers got his own bank 3 to go. Riley Kearns pulled Vermilion within three, but a Whiley putback sent Edison to the fourth up five. The Sailors went on a 10-5 run to start the fourth, with an AJ Gerber triple tying it at 42-all. Meagrow made two foul shots to break the tie, but Gerber dropped in a floater at the other end. The sophomore Meagrow broke the deadlock again, taking a feed from Davin Wendt and drilling a top of the key 3-pointer with 2:35 to go. "(Meagrow) was absolutely clutch," Campana said. "If he can show that composure night in and night out, it just makes our team better. I'm really proud of him and the game he had tonight. He's long and rebounds. The sky's the limit for that kid." Kearns came right back to tie it with his own 3, then Bourget attacked the basket for an and-1 and made the foul shot with 1:50 left. "I wasn't too happy with myself (early)," Bourget said. "I knew I kind of built that anger, fed my guys, kept trusting my teammates and shots kept falling." Kearns, one more time, evened up the game with a 3-pointer. At 50-50 with 1:26 to play, Edison didn't allow another point. "I'm so proud of the way they fought through the comeback that Vermilion put on," Campana said. Wendt split at the line after catching a pass over the top from Meagrow. Then Meagrow made a pair after Bourget grabbed an offensive board to set him up. Vermilion had one more shot to tie, but Bourget denied Gerber and Meyers' 3-pointer was just long. Blatnik made two foul shots to ice it. "We came in pretty prepared," Bourget said. "We've had some rocks, but we really found what we're looking to do and our groove. If we keep playing together and sticking together we can pull out a lot more wins in the second half of the season." Bourget finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, making 5-of-7 shots in the second half. Blatnik also had 15 points along with five boards. Meagrow went for nine points with four rebounds off the bench, as all his scoring came in the second half. "I know my teammates always have my back," Meagrow said. "So I've just got to do what I do, play defense and make the right decisions." Seventy percent of the game's scoring came in the second half, and it was Edison showing off the firepower and poise needed to get it done. And so the Chargers, who hadn't felt the satisfaction of a league win in a long time, experienced it on this snowy Friday night. "This was the response we needed," Campana said. "Now we've got a whole second half of the season that we want to prove we can play. I just love these guys." VERMILION Caleb German 1 1 3; Brock Meyers 4 0 10; Riley Kearns 5 2 16; Thomas Ngure 2 1 6; AJ Gerber 5 0 13, Keegan Frey 1 0 2. TOTALS 18 4 50 EDISON Cole Leimeister 1 0 3; Grayson Smith 3 0 6; Davin Wendt 1 2 4; Kayden Bourget 6 2 15; Luke Whiley 1 0 2; Luke Blatnik 5 3 15; Coltyn Meagrow 2 4 9. TOTALS 19 11 55 Vermilion 4 10 18 18 — 50 Edison 7 11 19 18 — 55 3-point goals — Vermilion 10 (Gerber 3, Kearns 4, Ngure 1, Meyers 2); Edison 5 (Blatnik 2, Meagrow 1, Bourget 1, Leimeister 1)