LUCAS — Willard senior Max Dawson has played a lot of basketball.
The Ashland University commit leads the Sandusky Bay Conference in scoring, averaging 25.5 points per game.
Dawson pieced together another flashy performance Saturday night, scoring 29 points to lead Willard to a 72-55 victory over the Lucas Cubs.
The senior credits his comfort level on the court to years of experience with the sport.
“It (confidence) kind of comes natural, just because I’ve played so much,” he said.
Friday, Dawson reached third on Willard’s all-time leading scorers list with 1,672 points.
Flashes couldn’t look past Lucas
Saturday’s game had no bearing on league titles or tournament seeding.
Lucas clinched its sixth straight Mid-Buckeye Conference title Friday, defeating Mansfield Christian 61-58.
The Flashes, one game behind Margaretta, are competing for a shot at a Bay Division title in the Sandusky Bay Conference.
However, Willard coach Joe Bedingfield said he knew his team would face a challenge against the Cubs.
“It’s (Lucas) a tough place (to play),” he said. “The physicality at Lucas is very similar to what we’ll see (in the tournament).”
Dawson said the Cubs’ strong, physical style of play is exactly what his team was hoping to face Saturday.
“That’s what it’s (physicality) going to be like in the tournament,” he said.
“We were kind of hoping it was like that tonight. Just a physical game that’s really going to prepare us for the big test in the tournament.”
Second half scoring run sparks Flashes offense
Lucas kept pace with the Flashes in the first half, trailing by three after one quarter, 21-18.
By halftime, Willard had extended its lead to 10, courtesy of a corner three-point bucket from Dawson as time expired.
The shot provided momentum for the Flashes, who’ve been striving to piece together a complete game, Dawson said.
“We’ve been talking all year about playing four quarters,” he said.
“We’ve strung together a few good quarters, two quarters maybe, but we’ve yet to play four good quarters. I think that was just an emphasis at halftime.”
Willard began the second half on a 12-0 scoring run, extending the lead to 22 points, and never looked back.
Dawson led all scorers with 29 points and senior Cam Robinson tallied 15.
Other contributors included Jackson Beamer (10), Isaac Robinson (9) and Masyn Johnson (9).
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Matchup with Willard ‘was good for us’ says Iceman
A near 20-point loss wasn’t the outcome Lucas coach Taylor Iceman was looking for Saturday.
However, he was proud of his team’s effort against the 10th ranked team in Division II.
“We were OK,” he said. “We played them for a little bit, but we were gassed there in the third quarter and it got away from us a little bit.”
Senior Aidan Culler led Lucas with 16 points. Other scorers included Gabe Porter (13), Logan Toms (12), Zac Winters (6), Keaton Day (4) and Greysen Jackson (2).
The Cubs will face two more Division II foes before the season ends. They’ll host Clear Fork Feb. 13 and travel to Ontario to end the regular season Feb. 24.
Iceman said he expects his squad to see the Colts’ and Warriors’ best efforts.
“They’re local (opponents) and they’re sick and tired of hearing about Lucas,” he said. “This (loss) was a tough one tonight, on the heels of last night, but it’s good for us.”
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