Margaretta bows out in double OT

SUNBURY — It was a whistle that Margaretta will hear in its sleep. With the Polar Bears tied with Columbus Academy 58-58 in the second overtime of Sunday's Division V boys regional final at Big Walnut High School, Margaretta star Julian Washington stole the ball from Vikings star Jason Singleton near half court. Washington swooped in for a contested shot that missed. Teammate Judah Keller flew in for a rebound. Whistle. Foul on Keller — his fifth. Singleton went to the free throw line as Margaretta protested that another player should've been shooting. Singleton, who has an Ohio State offer and will play for Harvard, made both free throws and Columbus Academy clinched a spot in the state semifinals with a 62-59 win. "Apparently we fouled, but we didn't foul number 5 (Singleton) and number 5 went up and shot two free throws," Washington said. "The refs didn't talk it over enough, I guess. That's not how it should've been played." Margaretta coach Steve Keller, who saw his much smaller squad get outscored 20-7 from the free throw line, watched his captains accept a regional runner-up trophy moments later. The Bears finished with a 23-4 record. "They told me that (Judah Keller) pushed him," Keller said. "He played an exceptional game. All our guys played an exceptional game. Hey, we can't control the whistles, but we went toe to toe with a very big, athletic Columbus Academy team and had our chances to win." Washington, who fouled out 56 seconds after his good friend Judah Keller, rose to the occasion with 32 points, including 11 in the two OT sessions. "It's just a privilege to be here," Washington said. "We've played teams like that in the summer and were prepared. We just didn't get it done." He'll head to the University of Dayton next season as the best player to ever wear a Margaretta uniform. "It's the best experience I've ever had. I wouldn't trade it for the world," he said. "I love this community and everything that came with it. I'm super blessed." Singleton matched Washington with 32 points after scoring just eight in the first half. He made perhaps the biggest bucket of the game at the end of the first overtime. Washington gave Margaretta a 51-49 lead when he hit a jumper with eighy seconds on the clock. That came after a CA turnover — and after the gym lights went out for a couple seconds. With no time to waste, Singleton went straight to the rim and scored at the buzzer to force a second overtime period. "What really hurt was Singleton going coast to coast at the end of the first overtime when we had taken the lead," Keller said. "We gotta try to be a little bit better, but he's very slippery with the basketball. He's a really good player, as evidenced by an Ohio State offer." Washington gave Margaretta its last lead went he laid in a shot with his left hand to make it 55-54 with 2:49 to play in the second OT. "This is why Div. V is arguably one of the best divisions in the state," coach Keller said. "That was a heckuva game. I can't fault our guys. We sold out and played our butts off. Unfortunately, we got into some foul trouble, but we were right there at the end." Kale Bailey added 14 points for Margaretta — 10 coming in the Bears' 24-point third quarter that helped them build a double-digit lead. Mitchell Zumberge — a sturdy 6-foot-8 sophomore — finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Vikings. Reinaldo Perez — a 6-5, 245-pound 4-star defensive end who has several major college football offers, drew a lot of fouls and helped clog the lane. Margaretta trailed 18-17 at halftime as both teams started slow. The tempo picked up in the third quarter as Margaretta went on an 11-0 run to take a 33-20 lead on a Bailey bucket. A three-point play by Washington gave the Bears their biggest lead at 38-24 with 4:17 left in the third. Washington was called for his fourth foul with 2:31 left in the third and sat for 5:23. Still, Margaretta led 43-32 with 4:18 left in the fourth quarter when Bailey scored on a backdoor cut and assist by Judah Keller. Coach Keller said taking some time off the clock due to all the foul trouble was discussed, but he vetoed the decision. "We talked about it, but their pressure is so tough," he said. "It's hard to do that because they really get up and sit on your high hip and funnel you into a 6-8 guy. "I'll always say I want to have players who want to try to make plays instead of players who don't want to make plays." The game originally was scheduled to be played Saturday afternoon, but a power outage at Ohio Dominican University led to the one-day delay. While Columbus Academy players — based in suburban Gahanna — slept in their own beds Saturday night, Margaretta scrambled to book its second hotel in two nights. "We can make excuses, but at the end of the day we showed up to complete," coach Keller said. "It's unfortunate the state didn't move this game yesterday to somewhere, and that's something I'll talk to the state about. At the end of the day, we were ready to go and our guys weren't willing to use that as a crutch or excuse. Our guys battled. "Our seniors (including starters Washington, Judah Keller and Keiygan Morris) gave me a wonderful four years and our underclassmen sold out for the seniors and our program," coach Keller said. "I want to say thank you to our six seniors and everybody involved in our basketball program." MARGARETTA (23-4) Kale Bailey 6 1-1 14, Keiygan Morris 2 0-0 4, Julian Washington 13 4-5 32, Judah Keller 3 0-2 7, Tyson Bailey 0 0-0 0, Jake Bouy 0 1-2 1, Jaxson Bohn 0 1-2 1 TOTALS 24 7-12 59 COLUMBUS ACADEMY (23-4) William Bundy 1 2-2 4, Reinaldo Perez 2 2-4 6, Charles Ruby 1 3-6 5, Jason Singleton 9 12-14 32, Mitchell Zumberge 7 1-2 15. TOTALS 20 20-28 62 Margaretta 7 10 24 4 6 8 — 59 Columbus Academy 10 8 11 16 6 11 — 62 Three-point goals: Margaretta 4 (Washington 2, K. Bailey, Keller); Columbus Academy (Singleton 2)