BOYS

Margaretta rolls past Oak Harbor

Rich McGowan
Reporter

OAK HARBOR – Margaretta’s boys basketball team did not look like a squad that had won just six games entering Friday night.

The Polar Bears ran roughshod over conference rival Oak Harbor in a manner that suggested Margaretta was far better than its record might indicate, 67-37.

And given the way his team has played as of late, including winning its second straight game after losing seven in a row, coach Steve Keller thinks his team is rounding into form as the sectional tournaments begin in just over a week’s time.

“I think we gained a lot of confidence when we played Perkins to overtime and then we had a really good one-point loss at the buzzer to Bellevue,” Keller said. “We’ve been able to have a pretty good week here thus far and now we have to get ready for Monroeville tomorrow.”

The victory lifts Margaretta to 7-13 overall, 2-9 in the Sandusky Bay Conference.

“The majority of these young men are freshmen and sophomores and they’ve had some growth this season and I think that growth has allowed us to play well here of late,” Keller added. “We’d like to keep it going and keep working hard and hopefully finish strong going into the second season.”

Friday night the Polar Bears pounced on the Rockets from the start never let off. A 9-0 run in the middle of the first quarter put Margaretta ahead 11-2 in the early going on its way a 16-4 lead after the first eight minutes.

The second quarter saw Margaretta start the period on a 12-0 run thanks to a pair of Tyler Henderson 3-pointers. Nick Leibacher also totaled four of his game-high six assists in the second quarter, helping his team to a 34-6 halftime lead.

The Polar Bears’ most effective weapon was senior forward Jacob Hayes. Hayes was a bully in the post and displayed a deft scoring touch, netting 11 field goals on 16 shots his way to a career-high 25 points.

“I’m so proud of Jacob. He’s a great kid. He just keep working, keeps battling and this is only fitting for him," Keller said. "He puts the time in and he’s really improved greatly over four years. I’m really thankful he’s stuck it out and persevered and tonight was a great performance by him.”

Bailey Kimberlin added 15 for the Polar Bears.

Oak Harbor (4-15, 0-10) was led in scoring by Alex Gezo’s eight points and Alec Young added seven points and a game-high seven rebounds.

Despite the lopsided loss, Oak Harbor coach Eric Sweet said his team had no time to feel sorry for itself with a game at Bellevue Saturday.

“Tonight was not a good night for us,” Sweet said. “Defensively, we did not rotate very well and offensively we were passive at times. We got to turn around and play tomorrow night.”

Stat book

Margaretta 16-18-17-16 — 67

Oak Harbor 4-2-14-17 — 37

Margaretta: 29 5-8 67. 3FG, 4 (Henderson 2, Hayes, Hilton). Rebounds, 27 (Frias 6), Turnovers, 12, Assists, 15 (Leibacher 6), Steals, 4. Scoring: Frias 2 0-0 4, Kimberlin 7 1-2 15, Leibacher 2 0-0 4, Lane 1 1-2 3, Hayes 11 2-2 25, Henderson 3 0-0 8, Hilton 2 1-2 6, Weaver 1 0-0 2.

Oak Harbor: 15 6-8 37. 3FG, 1 (Young). Rebounds, 20 (Young 7), Turnovers, 13, Assists, 2, Steals, 2. Scoring: Gezo 2 4-4 8, Malin 1 0-0 2, Collin Hayslett 3 1-2 7, Smith 1 0-0 2, Young 3 0-0 7, Harris 1 0-0 2, McAtee 2 0-0 4, Portales 1 0-0 2, Varga 0 1-2 1.