We have reached the sixth best sports story in our top 10 countdown for Washington from the 2021-22 academic year with today’s highlight taking us to the hardwood when the Demon boys’ basketball team put the entire state on notice.
Coming into the winter, many folks in Southeast Iowa figured the orange and black were going to be formidable, but what they did on December 7th would raise an eyebrow for even the most optimistic fan. The 2-0 Demons invaded Dutch Country to face the defending state champions in Pella and Washington dominated down the stretch in an 82-69 victory over the second ranked team in class 3A.
Pella brought back three of their top four scorers from their title team and blew out Washington by 32 points in that season. Early on in the rematch it appeared history was repeating itself with the Dutch racing out to a 12-3 lead before you could blink. After a timeout by Washington, the Demons started to muscle up and clawed their way back to a two point deficit after the period. The war was on from there with Washington leading 35-32 at half and 50-49 after three. The Demons took over in the fourth by a 32-20 count in large part by nailing 15 of 22 second half free throws. Ethan Patterson was a man on a mission collecting a game-high 29 points including seven made threes. Four Demons were in double figures with Kasen Bailey recording 14 of his 17 points in the final two quarters. Lance Sobaski and Lucas Kroll handled the boards down the stretch and finished with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Head Coach Collin Stark told KCII Sports this was a big one for his program. “This was a fun environment and this is why we put these type of games on the schedule. We not only want to prove to others, but to ourselves that we are ready to take that next step as a program. This is big for getting over that hurdle. This group is very close and it shows on the court. We enjoyed this one in the locker room.”
Washington would go on to have a 19-4 campaign and capture their third straight Southeast Conference crown. We will revisit this squad later in the countdown, but join us on Monday for number five on our list when it takes us to the cross country course.