Margaretta wins at buzzer; Clyde, Vermilion start strong

SANDUSKY — Don't stop fighting. Margaretta had a double-digit lead in the first half, but watched it slip away. Down late, the Polar Bears got three scores from Judah Keller — including one at the buzzer — to top Dublin Scioto 61-60 on Monday at Battle 4 The Bay at Cedar Point Sports Center. "Honestly I thought that was maybe our best game of the summer just because they really came out and punched us in the mouth to start the second half," Margaretta coach Steve Keller said. "They cut it to eight at half, but I really liked how after they tied it up, our guys competed. A win over a loss in that setting doesn't matter to me. We competed. We came out there and got after it." Margaretta was up 38-27 late in the first half when the Irish made a long 3 at the buzzer to cut into the lead. The Polar Bears still led 45-38 after a three-point play by Julian Washington, but the sensational senior was hurt soon after and missed over seven minutes of action. In the meantime, Scioto rallied and surged ahead 58-54. Keller scored to slice the lead in half then picked a steal and scored to tie it. Keiygan Morris split two free throws for a 59-58 lead with 46 seconds left before Scioto took the lead with 15 seconds to play. With time winding down, Keller was there to snatch a 3-pointer that fell short. He went up and under and dropped in the shot for the win. "I thought we met aggressiveness with aggressiveness," coach Keller said. "I thought maybe we didn't always do the right play, but at the end of the day, we played really hard. That's all you can ask of them. They really sold out." Kale Bailey led Margaretta with 20 points while Tate Bailey added 15 points. "These are guys are no longer underclassmen," said Keller of the Bailey cousins. "They've been very good players for us. With Tyson and Kale, they have a really nice skillset and understanding of the game. They really want to compete and play hard." Margaretta opened the day with a 64-43 win over Medina Christian and ended it with a 73-37 win over Marietta. Against Marietta, Judah Keller tallied 27 points while Washington added 19 points. Tyson Bailey scored 16 points. Kale Bailey took an elbow to the face and lost a tooth, leaving the game in the first half. Vermilion off to 2-0 start The Sailors were one of the more impressive teams, opening B4TB with wins over John Glenn (57-31) and Marlington (62-48). "We had a young group last year that had to learn the hard way at times," Vermilion coach Kurt Habermehl said. "They've grown up both physically and mentally a little bit. They're playing good basketball this summer." Facing Marlington, the Sailors trailed early before taking a 31-26 lead into halftime. Vermilion pushed the lead to 43-36 and later used a 12-0 run to expand the margin as big as 60-38. "I thought we did a really good job of sharing the ball," Habermehl said. "We have shooters, so if guys will make the extra pass and make the right decision, we're pretty good. When they try to do it on their own, we're not a very good basketball team. I thought we did a really good job of sharing the basketball." Vermilion faces winless Lorain Clearview and then 2-1 Oak Harbor to wrap up the pool schedule Tuesday. "There's been past summers when it's been tough," Habermehl said. "The last few summers have been tough for us. Even in the summer league here, we've been playing really well. I think there's a pretty bright future for these guys." Clyde goes 2-1 The Fliers were tested by Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division and Route 20 rival Bellevue out of the gate Monday. Clyde got 12 points from Oscar Webb and balanced scoring elsewhere to defeat the Redmen 48-43. Michael Scruggs, Chase Castle and freshman Jacori Roberts each added eight points for the Fliers. "It was nice to get a win over Bellevue," Clyde coach Jared Shetzer said. "I was dreading playing them to be honest because it's summertime and I like to play different teams. It was a nice confidence builder that we can compete against them." The Fliers raced out to a 17-6 lead after two buckets by Roberts and one from Webb. Bellevue bounced back tied the game at 17, but the Fliers took a 25-22 lead into halftime. Scruggs scored twice out of the break for Clyde and the Fliers never trailed in the second half. Clyde then went toe to toe with Division VI runner-up Marion Local before falling 58-53. "Marion Local exposed some of our weaknesses," Shetzer said. "They were just as physical and big as we were. That was good for us, too. We battled with them until the end. We just didn't get enough rebounds." The Fliers trailed 12-6 early and 34-27 at halftime. Roberts had a team-high 15 points for Clyde. "You never know when you get a freshman what he's going to bring to the game," said Shetzer of Roberts. "I think athletically we kind of knew, but between the ears sometimes, freshmen take a little bit. They're young. Jecori has picked up on everything very fast. He provides a mid-range game and an outside game. He can play inside." In its final game, Clyde blasted ISA Academy 96-68. The Fliers face Lima Bath in its final pool play game Tuesday morning. "Overall, the direction of our program is going up," Shetzer said. "That's thanks to the guys we had last year and truly the guys right now that are bought in. It's truly fun." Bellevue finishes winless The Redmen saw flashes of playing well. After trailing by 11 points early against Clyde, Bellevue scored the next 11 points to knot the game. That's great, but coach Ed Rich would rather not see his team fall into that kind of deficit early. "Clyde has a nice squad," Rich said. "We knew they were going be pretty good. I thought we played OK. I thought we got to the rack and did some nice things. It's just the little errors where it's a basketball IQ thing. We have to play more so our guys get a feel for the game." Bellevue dropped contests later to Lake (64-57) and Lima Bath (35-20). "It's been a challenging summer for sure, not just today," Rich said. "Our guys play hard. We just have a lot of work together. We have to get used to playing together with one another and getting used to what we want to run. I can't fault our effort. We're just making a lot of small errors that turn into big mistakes." The Redmen face Marion Local and Worthington Christian to finish out pool games before the bracket begins. "I wish it wasn't about wins and losses, but I like to win and the guys like to win," Rich said. "We have to get better and take care of the basketball. We need to make better decisions tomorrow. Hopefully we can get a win, but if we don't, we'll live with it and move on from it." Edison limps to 0-3 start The Chargers struggled in their three pool games, going 0-3. Edison dropped contests to Evergreen (48-42), Hudson (73-55) and Canal Fulton Northwest (72-42). "The biggest thing we take is this is the first day we've been together as a varsity group," Edison coach Dan Campana said. "We've had guys that haven't been able to be here because of vacation, work, other sports, you name it. They've not been together and played together yet. For this being their first go-around, it was pretty tough to do." Against Northwest, Edison was within 20-13 after a score by Cole Leimeister, but the Indians kept the pressure up. On pace for a 60-point first half after eight minutes, Northwest used a bombardment of 3s to attack Edison. The Indians led 40-28 at halftime. Leimeister scored 15 points for the game, but all of them came in the first half. Coltyn Meagrow added 11 points for Edison, nine of which were scored in the first 20 minutes. "The legs in the last game took a toll," said Campana of the game against Northwest. "We started off really good against Evergreen. We didn't shoot well, but only lost by six. We came out flat versus Hudson and got down almost 30 at halftime. We came back and cut it to eight. The best takeaway is we have the ability." Campana said he had a scrimmage lined up for last Friday, but it fell through. The Chargers are just getting Meagrow back from a nasty ankle sprain in which the senior missed three weeks of action. That came after losing six seniors from last year's team. Edison faces Galion Northmor in its final pool play game Tuesday morning before the March Madness style bracket that ensues. "The biggest thing tomorrow is hustling down the stretch when they're tired," Campana said. "Some of these guys it's the first time they've run up and down at all this summer. I talked to the guys about rising to the expectations or they'll fall into their habits. You can use being tired as a crutch. It hurt us in a lot of ways."