Margaretta rolls to two wins at Midwest Live

SANDUSKY — There's no hiding from the competition. At Midwest Live at Cedar Point Sports Center on Friday, Margaretta faced a variety of Division I recruits. But, the Polar Bears were up for the challenge. Margaretta topped Patrick Henry 56-41 before rolling past Wheeling Central Catholic from West Virginia, 52-31. PH is led by Reid Creager, who has played on the Ohio Buckets travel team with Margaretta's Julian Washington and Judah Keller and has Division I basketball offers. The Patriots also started Mack Hieber, who has committed to play baseball at Ohio State. Last year, Patrick Henry went 24-1, winning a district championship. "It was a fun game because we have had great relationships with them," Polar Bears coach Steve Keller said. "I was pleased with how we set the tone after we got settled in. Our pressure continued to be beneficial for us to get in transition." Patrick Henry led a couple minutes in before Margaretta got rolling. The Polar Bears ripped off 11 straight points to go up 13-5. Washington and Keller had a lot to do with it while Tate Bailey was a force down low with a variety of post moves. Margaretta kept pushing and went into halftime up 34-24. Patrick Henry hit five 3s in the first half, but the Polar Bears clamped down in the second half. The Patriots made just two 3-pointers in the second half as Margaretta continued to play well offensively. Judah Keller converted a pair of three-point plays, the second to extend the Polar Bears' advantage to 48-34. He scored again before assisting on a bucket from Washington. Washington (eight rebounds, four assists) led all scorers with 25 points while Keller tossed in 20 points. Around two dozen college coaches watched the game from the baseline and balcony. "For us, stops are almost like steals," coach Keller said. "Even Tyson has handled it well in the summer. We'll rebound and go and whoever rebounds it becomes the point guard. "When we get defensive rebounds and defense rebounds — that's key — we can get into transition, which gives us a lot better situation." Margaretta found the contest against WCC a bit tougher. The two went shot-for-shot in the first half. Two free throws by Washington helped the Polar Bears take a 22-19 halftime lead into the second half. Not thrilled with how it played in the opening half, the Polar Bears again played stiff defense in the second half, limiting WCC to just 12 points. Eli Sandcomb has Division I offers for WCC, but Margaretta was able to get enough stops to pull away. "We told the guys at half that we really needed to sit down and defend," coach Keller said. "We had tempo in the first half, but we were kind of gassed with it being our second game. We were playing really hard. We had to sit down and guard and we did." Tyson Bailey and Keller opened the second half with scores and later, Tyson Bailey scored off an assist from Washington. Washington got things going offensively with back-to-back tallies to make it 35-23. Kale Bailey added consecutive buckets later to push the lead to 39-24. Kale Bailey was back in the starting lineup after missing the second day of Battle 4 The Bay last week. He took an elbow to the mouth on the first day before sitting out Margaretta's run to the team championship. "We had a stretch where Keiygan (Morris) was at Buckeye Boys State," coach Keller said. "Kale's back. He doesn't have the tooth fixed, but he's feeling alright to play. We like our guys. Lord willing, we have to stay healthy." Keller led the Polar Bears with 17 points and eight rebounds while Washington added 16 points. Tyson Bailey had nine points and Kale Bailey chipped in six points. Ohio State head basketball coach Jake Diebler was among the coaches that watched the contest. "We did it on the defensive end, which can help us in transition and running the floor," coach Keller said. "I thought we got the ball side to side and played down hill from that." The challenges don't stop on the second day of Midwest Live for Margaretta. The Polar Bears face Division I recruit and 2,000-point scorer Cam Elwer and Delphos St. John's at 9 a.m. Saturday. Then, Margaretta battles Holland West Ottawa from Michigan at 11 a.m. "They're good," said coach Keller of DSJ. "We have a relationship because Cam played with Julian and Judah on the Buckets. It's going to be a fun one. I think our guys will play hard and compete like they always do. I know Delphos St. John's will do the same."