A pair of Washington basketball teams left the hardwood happy last night when they won tight games against Southeast Conference foe Burlington.

As heard on KCII, the Demon girls got out to a fast 11-4 start with transition points and attacking a leaky Grayhound defense. Burlington (0-12) settled in to make it an 18-13 game at half and they came out hot in the third to tie it up at 26-all after three. The fourth quarter had several lead changes, but free throws were the difference down the stretch with the Demons prevailing 36-35. Washington made 12 of 18 from the charity stripe compared to Burlington’s four of six. Anna Nacos led the way on the home court with 11 points and Alex Murphy managed a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Head Coach Shannon Rugg was proud of his team for their work defensively. “We are two teams that are almost identical. Defensively I thought we did an outstanding job by making it tough for them to get clean shots off. We could have rebounded better and got more offense going, but the defense was good. It’s a win so we will take it.” The Demons improve to 2-13 and capped off the season sweep of the Grayhounds by a combined two points. 

The Washington boys traveled to Burlington (5-8) and was in a dog fight for much of the way up 30-29 at half and pulled away in the fourth en route to a 67-57 victory. Despite Kasen Bailey being out due to injury, the Demons had plenty of offensive production to go around with Trashaun Willis recording a team-high 20 points, Ethan Patterson had 17, Lance Sobaski 16, and Travis Leyden was also in double figures with 10. The orange and black recorded 25 assists on the evening. The win bumps Washington back up to first place in the SEC with a 6-2 mark with two games to go. Burlington is 4-2 and Keokuk is in the hunt with a 3-3 record. Washington is 10-4 overall and has conference games with Fort Madison and the Chiefs remaining. 

Both Demon squads face off with Mid-Prairie on Monday in a doubleheader that can be heard on KCII.