Despite a game effort, the Washington Demons had their boys’ basketball season come to an end with a 74-67 loss at Clear Creek Amana last night in the first round of the Class 3A Substate 5 playoffs.

Washington fell victim to a 10-0 run in the first quarter that put them behind 16-7. But, despite trailing 20-12 at the end of the opening period, the Demons turned things around.

Washington hit five three-point shots as a team in the second quarter and finished the first half on a 15-7 run, with a reverse layup by Kael Williams just before the buzzer giving the Demons a 35-33 lead at halftime.

Washington would build the lead to as large as nine points to start the second half, but Clear Creek Amana would rally, as an 11-1 run by the Clippers to close the third quarter tied the game at 52, and when CCA started the final period on a 9-2 spurt, it was too much for the Demons to overcome.

Junior Logan McDole led Washington with five made three-pointers and 20 points scored, while senior Roman Roth added 10 of his 17 points in the second half. Despite the loss, Demons head coach Collin Stark told KCII Sports that he had great pride in how his team closed the season.

“This is a testament to hitting adversity head-on,” Stark said. “It’s a testament to these guys. They stayed together as a unit. Our guys battled today, and just the confidence in each other that they played [with] is probably what I’m most proud of.”

Washington finishes the season with a record of 6-15. In addition to Roth, the Demons will lose two other seniors in Andrew Shepherd and Noah Greiner.