Margaretta handles Huron in district semifinal

KANSAS — Margaretta could not have scripted a better start. The Polar Bears, playing in front of a sea of fans in green, hit 10 of 14 shots and rocketed out to an 18-point lead after eight minutes. Top-seeded Margaretta never relented, putting the game in running clock mode in the fourth quarter, blowing past fourth-seeded Huron 64-38 in a Division V boys district semifinal at Lakota High School on Thursday. "We had a really focused week starting last Saturday," Margaretta coach Steve Keller said. "When you play a team three times, you have two different mindsets. One is do we really have to play these guys? Or, you're really excited to play these guys again. We were certainly excited to play them again." The Polar Bears improved to 23-1 and will face third-seeded Genoa (19-5) at 7 p.m. Saturday in the district championship game back at Lakota. "I told our guys to never take it for granted to be in the final 32 teams in the state," Keller said. "People may expect it. People may think it's going to happen, but you have to go out and get it done. The guys have put aside all worry and concern and competed." Huron, which played significantly better the last three quarters of the game, ended the season with a record of 15-8. "It was a great season," Huron coach Toby Miller said. "Us and Margaretta are both the smallest schools in the Bay. I think we have identical enrollment numbers. We played the entire Lake Division with the exception of Sandusky and came out with 15 wins still. "Schools our size aren't playing those big schools like we are." Tate Bailey scored and Judah Keller hit a 3 to force a quick Huron timeout just over a minute into the game. The Tigers recovered and were within 10-7, but Margaretta surged. Keller hit back-to-back 3s later before a triple by Julian Washington made it 19-7. After Tommie McDonald scored for the Tigers, Margaretta finished the quarter on an 8-0 run. Bailey, Keller and Washington each scored before Washington knocked in two free throws. That gave the Polar Bears a 27-9 lead after one quarter. "In the first quarter, our students brought the energy," Judah Keller said. "We were not ready for 300-some students. It was so insane. (Margaretta assistant) Coach (Jake) Meisler came over and told us we had to play for them. We hit some shots and got in a rhythm. We played well." The pace slowed dramatically in the second quarter. Margaretta won the quarter 6-4 to take a 33-13 lead into halftime. The Tigers were keeping the margin at bay in the second half before the Polar Bears went on another big run. Up 38-20, Margaretta ripped off the next 19 points. Bailey scored, Washington made two free throws, and Bailey dropped in a bucket to make it 44-20. Bailey canned a 3, Tate Bailey scored down low and Nolan Wiley pushed the advantage to 51-20 after three quarters. "He's had a great year," said coach Keller of his son Judah. "He's had the best year of his three years. He just hasn't scored it like he had. That's because we have a lot of weapons. We've talked all year about all of us being unselfish and making the right play." Scores by Kale Bailey, Wiley and Washington pushed the game to a running clock in the fourth quarter. Margaretta led 57-20 with 6:26 to play. "Other than that avalanche in the first quarter that was a result of second chances and transitions, I thought we guarded them pretty well in the half-court," Miller said. "Julian is going to make tough shots. In the half-court, I thought our defense was solid. We just struggled to put the ball in the hole." The Polar Bears topped Huron twice this season. Margaretta won 54-39 on Jan. 3 at home and 63-47 on Feb. 7 at Huron. "We can always give them three tough quarters," Miller said. "It's always about how can we right the ship in the quarter where they're on those avalanche-type runs? We harped on the simple things lead to those huge spurts." Margaretta keyed in on Huron's Jackson McNulty. The explosive 6-foot-5 forward tallied 32 points, nine rebounds and six blocks in the second meeting between the teams. This time, he had five points and six rebounds. "We knew we had to do a good job defensively," coach Keller said. "I thought our guys did a great job with the game plan. That's really critical." Tommie McDonald was the lone bright spot offensively for Huron. He had 23 points for the Tigers. Joe Wood, McDonald and McNulty are the seniors for Huron. "I can't thank our seniors enough," Miller said. "Our three seniors really steadied the ship for us early and led. It was really fun to be apart of." Washington finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds while Tate Bailey scored 15 points. Keller had 11 points for the Polar Bears. "Tate comes in averaging five points a game, but he has the ability to score," Keller said. "He was very good tonight." HURON (15-8)Tommie McDonald 9 2-5 23, Landon Hohler 2 0-0 5, Jackson McNulty 2 1-2 5, Parker Schafer 1 0-0 2, Jack Raglow 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 15 3-7 38 MARGARETTA (23-1)Tate Bailey 7 0-0 15, Julian Washington 7 4-5 20, Nolan Wiley 3 0-0 6, Judah Keller 4 0-0 11, Tyson Bailey 2 1-2 5, Kale Bailey 1 0-0 2, Keiygan Morris 1 0-0 3, Jaxson Bohn 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 26 5-7 64 Huron 9 4 7 18 — 38Margaretta 27 6 18 13 — 64 Three-point goals: Huron 5 (McDonald 3, Hohler, Raglow); Margaretta 7 (Keller 3, Washington 2, Ta. Bailey, Morris)