The Washington boys’ basketball team played a thriller of a first-round game in Oskaloosa last night, beating Fort Madison on neutral ground by a 54-50 score to secure their spot in the substate semifinals.

The Demons got out to an early 2-0 lead with a Brock Sobaski basket.  Then the Bloodhounds tied it up with a basket of their own, but then the Demons pulled ahead after that and never gave up their lead.  Fort Madison would go on mini runs to get it back to within one, but the Demons would always stay just a little ahead.

It was a three-point game with 11.7 seconds on the clock when Fort Madison’s Brandon Keester committed team foul number 10, sending Luke Turner to the free throw line for two shots.  He missed the first, but nailed the second to put the game back to within two possessions.  The Bloodhounds would not score after that, and the Demons took home the victory.

The Demons were playing without the assistance of Treshaun Willis last night, who had scored a combined 37 points between the two games against the Bloodhounds earlier in the season.  Brock Sobaski shined in his stead, playing aggressive basketball and putting up 11 points in his extended minutes.  Cade Hennigan led all Demon scorers with 13.

With the win, the Demons improve to 9-9 on the season.  They’ll live to fight another day, heading right back to Osky on Thursday night to take on the fifth-ranked Indians in round two.  That one will be live on KCII starting with the Washington HyVee Pregame Show at 6:30 and a 7:00 tip.