Margaretta grinds its way to title at Battle 4 The Bay

SANDUSKY — Margaretta faced some of its best competition this summer this week. The Polar Bears were unfazed. Margaretta finished pool play undefeated, then rolled to the varsity team championship at Battle 4 The Bay on Tuesday at Cedar Point Sports Center. "There's no question we got better," Margaretta coach Steve Keller said. "This two-day grind is something that is very difficult. Once you hit the tournament, you get a second wind. There in the championship game, we didn't know what we'd get because we had sat for two full games before us. The guys really came out with a mindset." The Polar Bears took down Hudson in the title game, 31-17. Pool play games were played with two 20-minute running clock halves while bracket games were one 14-minute running clock period. Margaretta has big aspirations when the season begins in November. "It means a lot, but it doesn't mean much in the whole scheme of things," senior Judah Keller said. "Sure, we won Battle 4 The Bay, but we have a lot of other stuff in the season that we want to get accomplished. Obviously it feels good." Hudson jumped on Margaretta early, hitting two 3-pointers for a quick 8-2 lead. The Polar Bears didn't need long to get back in the game as Judah Keller hit back-to-back 3s to tie it. Julian Washington followed with a triple before Keller scored, Washington hit two free throws and Keller scored again to finish off a 15-0 run. "Judah got us started early with some shots," coach Keller said. "Everybody played well. Tyson Bailey is just a load to take away under the rim. Julian is Julian." Not much slowed down Margaretta the rest of the way. Keller knocked down a third triple to make it 24-10. He showed improvement on his deep game, making five 3s in a 73-37 pool play win over Marietta on Monday night. "He's been pretty much a 40 percent 3-point shooter his whole career, but the light has kind of turned on for him in his senior year," said coach Keller of his son. "This is it. This is it for him with football and this is it for him with basketball at the high school level. He's really worked hard." Later, Keller scored before Washington drove through the middle of the lane and threw down a thunderous one-handed dunk for a 28-12 lead. Once he landed, he let out an emphatic roar as Margaretta was rolling. It came a few minutes after he got tangled up on a play as each team got a little chippy. It was all from the emotion of the desire to come out on top, Washington said. "I definitely got fired up because I wanted to win," he said. "I'm a competitor. Our whole team likes to compete. We brought the fire and we went and got it done." The Polar Bears got to the final by taking down Lake 25-15 in the semifinals. Margaretta raced out to an 11-2 lead following scores from Washington and Keller. Against the Flyers, Bailey was a force, scoring four times with his physical play under the hoop. The Polar Bears defeated Canal Fulton Northwest 28-19 in the quarterfinals and Creston Norwayne in the round of 16, 34-20. Margaretta had to push past a tough Holland Springfield team in its first bracket game, 23-19. The Polar Bears trailed 19-18 late when Washington converted his second three-point play in about a minute. A score from Bailey fended off Springfield. "It being my last year going into my senior year, it means a lot," said Washington of taking home the B4TB team title. "Playing against this type of competition is going to prepare us for the season. Definitely excited. There's a lot of size we'll see in the tournament, so this was a good thing." Washington opened the day with 40 points in a win over Notre Dame Cathedral Latin in Margaretta's final pool play game. The Polar Bears won six games Tuesday without starter Kale Bailey, who left Monday's win over Marietta with a chipped tooth. He took an elbow to the face and didn't return. Coach Keller said he told his guys to take a mandatory day off Wednesday, but some will still want to get in the gym. Margaretta's summer at CPSC is far from finished. The Polar Bears play in the prestigious Midwest Live event next weekend. "As we talk about in the program, this game gives back what you put into it," coach Keller said. "If you work at it, you'll get better. But it's hard. It's not like the microwave mentality where you can get good at something quick. This game really teaches you perseverance and grit and grinding it on days you don't want to get better. All of our guys do that."