Colin White (22) and the rest of the Ottawa-Glandorf Titans were fired up during their 57-43 win over Castalia Margaretta in a Division III boys basketball regional championship game at Bowling Green on Saturday night.
BOWLING GREEN — Ottawa-Glandorf booked its fourth consecutive trip to the boys state basketball tournament with a 57-43 win over Castalia Margaretta on Saturday night in the Division III regional championship game at Bowling Green State University’s Stroh Center.
It’s almost becoming as much a part of the yearly school schedule at O-G as parent-teacher conferences or eighth grade class trips are at some schools.
Colin White, a four-year starter who led Ottawa-Glandorf with 26 points against Margaretta, is the only Titan who has been part of all four of those trips to Columbus and Dayton.
“It’s special. Not a lot of people get to experience that one time, never mind four times,” White said.
“It’s going to be a special feeling to get down there this year. It’s a new group of guys every year. But playing with these guys for however long, it’s just going to be special going down there with them. Four years is pretty cool,” he said.
Ottawa-Glandorf (24-3) will play Canal Winchester Harvest Prep at 5:15 p.m. Friday in its state semifinal at the University of Dayton Arena.
O-G took the lead in the first minute of the game against Margaretta and never was behind. The Polar Bears stayed close in the first half and were down by only five points, 28-23, at halftime.
But the Titans applied more pressure defensively and on offense in the second half and led by 10 points or more for the final 11 minutes of the game.
They shot 52 percent (11 of 21) in the second half after hitting 34 percent (10 of 29) in the first two quarters. Defensively, O-G got 16 points after Margaretta turnovers and the Polar Bears had none after turnovers by the Titans.
“I’m extremely proud of our guys. Huge win. Unbelievable atmosphere. To have a sellout crowd and have these guys follow up with a great performance I think it is a testament to our guys, to our seniors, to our communities, just showing out all day today,” Ottawa-Glandorf coach Tyson McGlaughlin said.
Caden Erford, who along with White was described by McGlaughlin as “the heart and soul of what we do,” scored 13 points after being held scoreless in the first quarter.
Margaretta coach Steve Keller said, “Our hope was that we could make others besides White and Erford have to beat us. But then you get (Grant) Schroeder with 8 and (Grady) Toumazos with 7. That’s just a little bit of the balance they need in a situation like a regional final.
“This is O-G’s fourth regional championship in a row so they know this environment. We’re new to an Elite 8,” he said. “I thought we gave ourselves a fighting chance and the third quarter just got away from us a little bit. I think we just got gassed in the fourth quarter. There wasn’t much left in the tank,” he said.
Ottawa-Glandorf outscored Margaretta 14-2 on second chance points and 13-7 on fast breaks overall.
When asked if there was pressure this season because some people might view this season as less than a success if it had ended anywhere short of Dayton, McGlaughlin said, “I’m sure that’s out there. But we talked our guys from the first day and we don’t have a lot of long-term goals and things like that.
“We said from the beginning it’s not about the final destination, it’s about the journey. And we’re going to make this journey as memorable as possible. Win or lose tonight, there is no way I would say this was a failure. These guys — this is what high school sports is about. When I coach, I want guys like this where they put everything on the line. That’s what I told them. Before the game I told them there’s one thing I want, I want maximum effort, leave it all on the court. These guys epitomize that.”
Ottawa-Glandorf 57, Castalia Margaretta 43
Score by quarters:
O-G 13 15 18 11 — 57
Margaretta 11 12 9 11 — 43
OTTAWA-GLANDORF
Colin White 26, Caden Erford 13, Dave Westrick 1, Grant Schroeder 8, Grady Toumazos 7, Alex Wagner 2. Totals: 21-12-57.
MARGARETTA
Gage Bodey 8, Tyson Bailery 4, Tate Bailey 4, Julian Washington 15, Judah Keller 7, Kale Bailey 5. Totals: 18-5-43.
Three-pointers: OG — Erford 1, Schroeder 1, White 1; M — Bodey 1, K. Bailey 1.
Records: Ottawa-Glandorf 24-3; Castalia Margaretta 24-3.
