Northridge Outlasts Margaretta in "Battle of the Polar Bears" Thriller KETTERING, Ohio – In a clash of two of Ohio's premier small-school programs, the "Battle of the Polar Bears" lived up to the hype at the 2026 Beacon Orthopaedics Flyin’ to the Hoop invitational. Despite a valiant second-half comeback, Castalia Margaretta fell just short in a 58-55 heartbreaker to Dayton Northridge at Trent Arena on Monday. The game was a tale of two halves, showcasing the resilience of a Margaretta squad that refused to quit after a disastrous opening 16 minutes. A Frigid Start Northridge (Division IV) came out of the gates firing, utilizing their speed and length to disrupt Margaretta’s rhythm. The Dayton-based Polar Bears built a commanding 32-17 lead late in the second quarter, eventually heading into the locker room with an 11-point cushion. Margaretta struggled to find an answer for Northridge’s Keonte Smith, who finished the afternoon with a team-high 21 points and 12 rebounds. The Comeback Trail Whatever was said in the Margaretta locker room worked. The Castalia squad emerged for the third quarter with renewed defensive intensity and a clinical offensive approach. Led by University of Dayton commit Julian Washington, Margaretta began chipping away at the deficit. Washington, playing on his future home turf in front of Flyers fans, poured in 23 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. His aggressiveness sparked a massive run that saw Margaretta outscore Northridge 21-7 in the third frame. By the time the buzzer sounded to end the quarter, Margaretta had remarkably clawed back to take a 41-39 lead. Down to the Wire The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth heavyweight bout. Margaretta appeared to have the momentum in hand, holding a three-point lead with under a minute to play. However, Northridge found one last gear. After Senior Judah Keller fouled out first with just over a minute left, the Green & White would suffer another huge blow as All Ohio Guard Julian Washington would be on the wrong end of a foul call that would result in his 5th foul of the game. Northridge would split the free throws, and cut the lead to 1 on the rebound Jake Bouy was whistled for a elbow as he was coming down from getting the rebound, giving the ball back to Northridge with just under 27 seconds left. Margaretta would get the final shot trailing by 1. After a timeout, Coach Keller and his staff dialed up the perfect backdoor as Keiygan Morris hit a wide open Kale Bailey for what would have been the go ahead basket with 5.7 seconds remaining. However the Bears were called for a charge, giving the ball back to Northridge and wiping out the basket. Northridge would hit two free throws on the ensuing inbounds and Margaretta failed to get a final shot off. Our Polar Bears will be back in action Friday night as they travel to arch rival Huron for a triple header tipping off at 4:45pm. MARGARETTA (12-2) Julian Washington 7-16 7-8 23, Judah Keller 7-10 2-2 16, Kale Bailey 4-9 2-3 10, Tyson Bailey 3-6 0-0 6, Keiygan Morris 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 21-45 11-13 55. Score by Quarters: Margaretta — 13 | 8 | 21 | 13 — 55 Northridge — 20 | 12 | 7 | 19 — 58