The Washington Demons had their boys’ basketball season drawn to a close with a 57-51 loss to Fairfield last night in the Class 3A Substate 6 quarterfinals. Despite home-court advantage and an eight-game winning streak in the series, Washington never had a lead in this playoff battle. Fairfield senior Max Weaton started strong by scoring the game’s first six points, but he finished stronger, scoring 12 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter. The Demons never trailed by more than 12 points, but they also never got closer than six in the second half. Washington head coach Collin Stark told KCII Sports that, while the Demons had their opportunities, Fairfield always kept them at arm’s length.

“I think you need to start by looking at that first half,” Stark said. “I felt like we were attacking. We got them into foul trouble. [We] just couldn’t capitalize on that. There was a stretch where I feel like we were on 11 [points] for a very long time. I think, when we re-watch this film and look back on this game, there’s so much more of the game, but when we can’t take advantage of that in that first half and execute a little more, that’s where [we’ve] got to make sure that we’re trusting each other. [It] didn’t determine the game, but that was a key stretch.”

Washington senior Ethan Patterson poured in 21 points, including 14 in the second half. Sophomore Logan McDole hit three three-pointers and finished with 13 points, but it was not enough for the Demons to create a comeback. Washington ends the season with a record of 11-10. Along with Patterson, the Demons now say goodbye to graduating seniors Evan Van Der Molen, Brian Fritz and Aden, Avery and Ajay Six.