Washington explodes for school-record 51 points

CASTALIA — Last year when Margaretta hosted Edison, it was the Nolan Wiley game. When the Polar Bears welcomed in the Chargers on Tuesday, it was the Julian Washington game. Washington tallied a school-record and career-high 51 points, leading Margaretta to a dominating 82-38 Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division victory. "Shots were falling early and my teammates were finding me," Washington said. "I was shooting the ball, but they do a great job of finding me. I was able to play within the flow of the game." The previous record for a single game at Margaretta was 45 points by Jake Leibacher in 2021. Washington had 15 points after one quarter and scored all 17 of the Polar Bears' points in the second quarter. He added 19 more in the third quarter before watching the fourth quarter from the bench. "He's really talented in multiple facets, one of them being in scoring the basketball," Margaretta coach Steve Keller said. "He got going from the arc, but finished with the dribble-drive in the second half. He was able to attack and get baskets at the rim. He can also make others better." It didn't take long for Washington to get going. After a 3 from Cole Leimeister put the Polar Bears (8-0, 3-0 SBC Bay) down 3-2, he had a pair of triples as Margaretta went up 10-3. Kale Bailey and Keiygan Morris scored before two free throws from Bailey made it 16-3. Judah Keller added two free throws before Washington scored and then hit a triple for a 23-5 advantage. He added two more buckets just 12 seconds apart as Margaretta went up 29-8 less than seven minutes in. "I try not to force too much and let the game come to me," Washington said. "I want to take what the defense gives me." The Chargers (0-6, 0-3) scored the last four points of the first quarter and Coltyn Meagrow opened the second-quarter scoring for Edison. But, Washington was not to be denied. He hit two more 3s to make it 35-17. He added a three-point play and then laid it in at the rim following an Edison turnover. Another bucket from Washington pushed the Margaretta lead to 46-23. "I was proud of our other guys," coach Keller said. "They recognized Julian had it going and they went that way. I also was very pleased with Julian allowed it to be in the flow of the game. "He's an elite talent and very special talent. It's really deserving." The Polar Bears blew the game open in the third quarter. Washington picked a steal and scored for a 54-27 edge. The Polar Bears got the first 13 points of the quarter. The points mounted quickly for Washington. A putback and score gave him 42 points and a 63-28 lead for Margaretta. One more hoop brought him to 44 points. After an Edison timeout, Washington got out in the open and it looked like a thunderous dunk would surpass Leibacher's mark. Instead, he was fouled and made both free throws with just under three minutes to play in the third quarter. The game was stopped and Washington was honored at midcourt with a standing ovation. "We just wanted to keep getting after them," Washington said. "We knew we were going to come out with pressure. We wanted to blow it open the best we can." The Polar Bears committed five turnovers in the first quarter, but finished the game with just nine. "Early on, we had a lull after the timeout that coach (Dan) Campana called," coach Keller said. "They competed in that stretch. I was getting on our guys about improving and guarding. I thought our guys responded well." Bailey finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds for Margaretta, which outrebounded Edison 41-14. "That's exciting because Kale is a really nice player," coach Keller said. "Kale is a young man that has to be aggressive and stay aggressive. I thought tonight he really had a high-energy game. He was able to create opportunities for himself and opportunities for others." Leimeister topped Edison with 12 points while Meagrow had nine points. Keller added eight points and six rebounds while Morris had five points and five rebounds. The Polar Bears will enjoy Christmas break before traveling to take on Colonel Crawford (3-0), a Division VI state semifinalist last year, on Monday. "All in all, I thought we handled our business and we got it done," coach Keller said. "Now we have a big-time matchup at Colonel Crawford, which will be really, really fun." EDISON (0-6, 0-3) Cole Leimeister 4 3-4 12, Kyle Robinson 1 4-4 7, Kellen McConnell 3 0-0 6, Coltyn Meagrow 3 2-3 9, Connor Goodwin 0 0-0 0, Wesley Seel 1 2-4 4. TOTALS 12 11-15 38 MARGARETTA (8-0, 3-0) Kale Bailey 3 3-4 10, Keiygan Morris 2 1-2 5, Julian Washington 21 4-4 51, Judah Keller 3 2-2 8, Tyson Bailey 0 0-0 0, Jaxon Bohn 1 0-1 2, Ayden Miller 1 0-0 2, Rob Cox 1 0-0 2, Tyler Johnson 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 33 10-13 82 Edison 12 15 5 6 — 38 Margaretta 29 17 28 8 — 82 Three-point goals: Edison 3 (Leimeister, Robinson, Meagrow); Margaretta 6 (Washington 5, K. Bailey)