Margaretta routs Willard to win Bay

WILLARD — Margaretta played like it was on a mission. The Polar Bears had already won a share of the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division championship, but had no intentions of sharing it Friday. Division V No. 5 Margaretta got career-highs from Kale Bailey and Keiygan Morris, topping Willard 90-45 at Bob Haas Gymnasium to win the outright league title. "It means everything because this is what we talked about in the offseason," said Bailey of the outright league title. "At the beginning of the season, it all builds up to this. This is what we were expecting and this is what we were hoping for. We had a chance to do it and we never really let them have a chance." Bailey knocked down six 3-pointers to score 32 points. He had four triples in the third quarter alone as the Polar Bears (18-3, 10-0 SBC Bay) pulled away and put the game into a running clock. "I'm not the easiest coach to play for and I challenged Kale," Margaretta coach Steve Keller said. "He has taken it well. He has really stepped up his game. He's 6-foot-4 and he runs and jumps. He has skill and he's a very good player. To go out and have 32 in a game, that's tough to do in any game. But this was a championship game and he was a dog tonight for sure." Morris was explosive from deep, as well. He made five 3s, scoring 21 points on the night. "We just go with the flow of the game and let the game come to us," Morris said. "We're not going to force the issue, but all of our teammates know what (Kale) and I can do. We know what we can do. It was a matter of getting us the ball. We just made shots." Margaretta led just 11-8 late in the first quarter. With Julian Washington on the bench with two early fouls, a 3 from Morris gave the Polar Bears a six-point lead after one quarter. Washington returned to the floor and it was the right call for Margaretta. With the 6-5 University of Dayton signee drawing major attention, others were able to step up and attack. Judah Keller scored before Bailey made it 18-10. Washington turned a steal into a bucket for Morris. Later, Morris and Bailey each canned 3s to make it 26-14. "We changed up our defense and went with something that's a little safer," coach Keller said. "You have to talk to Julian about being smart and he was. That's what went through my process instead of sitting him the second quarter. If you're smart, you can play with two fouls. He was able to do that." Willard (17-3, 8-2) really had no answer for the Margaretta offense as four straight points from Keller made it 36-17. Jaxson Hall tallied a three-point play for the Crimson Flashes, but Bailey scored and Morris' triple made it 41-20 at halftime. "It felt great," said Bailey of getting on a roll. "When you see one fall, you have to let the next one go. It's all mentality and confidence. There's no other word to describe it except pure happiness. It's crazy to see the student section go crazy. You hit another one and it feels like you're on top of the world." Margaretta was even more impressive in the second half. After a slow start to the third quarter, the Polar Bears got their offensive train going. In a 60-second span, Margaretta used a 7-0 run to go up 52-24. Two straight triples from Bailey pushed the advantage to 58-26 and later, Keller scored to make it 60-32. The Polar Bears then scored 10 points in the final 1:20 of the quarter. Bailey and Morris drained 3-pointers around buckets from Tyson Bailey and Kale Bailey. That gave Margaretta a 70-35 edge after three quarters. "I thought we were extremely focused," coach Keller said. "From the time I saw the guys, I thought we had a business-like approach. We were here for business. We've been working on Keiygan and Kale all year. They're very talented players and tonight, they demonstrated that. They played extremely well." Even with the running clock, the Polar Bears' offense was good down the stretch. Tyson Bailey scored on back-to-back possessions to open the fourth quarter. Morris added his last 3 for a 79-40 lead with 4:10 to go. Senior Rob Cox entered and scored 11 points late, including three more triples for Margaretta. It was that kind of night for the Polar Bears. "They're one of the best teams in the state for a reason," Willard coach Joe Bedingfield said. "They share the ball really well and they pressure you really well in the full-court. I thought they sped us up a little bit early and got us out of sync. We still have a lot of young guys that haven't played in a championship environment. They have a very experienced team." Margaretta has now won 21 straight league games since Willard decimated the Polar Bears inside the Iceberg two seasons ago. Willard won that night, 77-39, but Margaretta hasn't been touched since. "It kind of reminded me of their place a couple years ago," Bedingfield said. "I thought they were more physical and did a nice job of getting out in transition. We have to take this as a learning experience for our young guys. Hopefully they can learn and grow. It's unfortunate because it was a big game." Hall paced Willard with 22 points. The Crimson Flashes were able to get to the foul line in the first half, but it was far from enough on this night. Willard wraps up the regular season with games at Ontario on Tuesday and at home against Bellevue next Friday. "Our end of the season schedule is tough for a reason," Bedingfield said. "You look at the tournament with Genoa and Margaretta and they're state-ranked. You have to be ready for a challenge and see what your kids are made of. There's no time to hang your head and feel sorry for yourself." Washington grabbed eight rebounds, passing Margaretta assistant coach Jake Meisler for the career mark with 657 rebounds. He scored just seven points while dishing 10 assists. Keller added 12 points and seven assists for the Polar Bears, who finish the regular season next Friday at Old Fort. "We're just blessed," coach Keller said. "We've had some great kids. Praise the Lord, we get to coach them. They were ready to go tonight. Willard is a really good basketball team. Tonight was our night. We're going to enjoy it, but we're going to stay humble and keep working." MARGARETTA (18-3, 10-0) Kale Bailey 13 0-0 32, Keiygan Morris 8 0-0 21, Julian Washington 2 2-2 7, Judah Keller 5 1-3 11, Tyson Bailey 4 0-0 8, Rob Cox 4 0-0 11. TOTALS 36 3-5 90 WILLARD (17-3, 8-2) Kaleb Weaver 1 0-0 3, Jaxson Hall 6 6-7 22, Mason Dawson 2 4-6 10, JJ Bedingfield 1 4-4 7, Gage Stover 0 0-0 0, Gage Tackett 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 11 14-17 45 Margaretta 14 27 29 20 — 90 Willard 8 12 15 10 — 45 Three-point goals: Margaretta 15 (K. Bailey 6, Morris 5, Cox 3, Washington); Willard 9 (Hall 4, Dawson 2, Weaver, Bedingfield, Tackett)