The end of November and the start of December is always an exciting time of the year in Washington, and not just because the holidays are right around the corner. A new season of Washington Demon boys’ basketball is also in the offing, and the Demons tip off their latest campaign tonight in a road game at Albia that you can hear on KCII.

Washington continued its standard of excellence last season by putting up 19 wins and bringing home their third straight South East Conference championship. But, after a close loss in the second round of the Class 3A Region 4 playoffs, most of the Demons’ starting lineup is gone. Senior star Ethan Patterson has returned after averaging a team-high 16 points per game. But, with two other double-digit scorers gone, Washington will need new stars like senior Aden Six and sophomore Logan McDole to emerge if the Demons look to keep up their strong offensive play. Head coach Collin Stark tells KCII Sports his guys need to develop the balance that made them so dynamic a season ago.

“This year, I think a lot of teams are going to really key on Ethan,” Stark says, “and I think that might be a little adjustment for him. But there [was] also times last year where teams really keyed on him as well. But then there’s those role guys that will hopefully be able to take a little of that pressure off of Ethan. I think we’ll help with still being able to score the ball, even if [the defense] try to take Ethan away.”

Washington has won at least 14 games each of the previous three seasons. That includes the Demons’ 79-58 win last year against the Albia Blue Demons, who finished 12-11.  Washington looks to start a new season of boys’ basketball with another road win versus Albia, and you can hear it on 106.1 FM KCII. Coverage begins with the Washington Hy-Vee Pregame Show this evening at 7.