Bailey’s 39 propels No. 4 Demons

WASHINGTON — Washington’s Kasen Bailey has been an integral part of the Demons’ success on the basketball court this season, and Tuesday night against Davis County was no different.

The senior guard was feeling it and it seemed like he couldn’t miss connecting on seven from beyond the arc, pouring in a season-high 39 point en route to a 84-67 win over the Mustangs.

Bailey came out fueling the Demons’ offense right out of the gate, scoring their first nine points off three of his four of deep in the half. By the halftime whistle, Bailey had accumulated 18 points.

“I felt like I was playing unconscious,” Bailey said. “That’s what I try to tell the guys before the game, play unconscious and play our way. We played hard and I was just taking what the defense was giving me.”

Despite Bailey and the Demons’ efforts, Davis County only trailed by eight at the half, 41-33. The Mustangs Dalton Reeves had himself a stellar outing in the first, putting together a 19 point half.

“The thing that I liked most was that I though he still let the game come to him,” Washington head coach Collin Stark said. “He wasn’t forcing anything. He’s capable of that, and Patty’s (Ethan Patterson) capable of that. I think we’re going to work on setting even better screens to get those guys open and more shots. Especially in that fourth quarter Kasen started to see a bit of a mismatch and he kinda took advantage of that, and that’s credit to him and our guys.”

Washington came out of the locker room with intensity. It was a 10-9 quarter in favor of Davis County midway through the third, but then Washington turned it up a notch. The Demons ended the third on a 14-4 run, 11 of which came from Bailey, to increase their lead to 64-47 heading into the fourth.

Stark said that he felt the team gave before effort on both ends of the ball in the second half.

“Sometimes it’s the effort,” Stark said. “We talk more-so defensively, and I’ll give to them they shot extremely well. We would get to that 10, 12, 14 mark then they would make a run. We really couldn’t get over the hump. It wasn’t until the third and fourth we started to extend the lead. I was just really happy with that group in the fourth. Just wanting the ball and going after it is the biggest thing.”

In the fourth, all Washington had to do was continue doing what they did all game long, they did not disappoint. Davis County put together its best scoring output in the fourth, 20 points, but Washington was able to match that with 20 of its own to secure the victory.

The Demons did well to contain Reeves in the second half, limiting him to just eight points.

“I expected our press to have a little bit more of an effect, but credit to them, they were prepared for our press,” Stark said. “That’s where a lot of his buckets early on were, layups. He’s very patient with the ball and once he started to get going we had to help a little more.”

Along side Bailey’s scoring, Ethan Patterson shot the ball well adding 22 points to the Demons’ totals. Travis Leyden chipped in seven. Ajay Six scored five. Aden Six finished with four. Logan McDole had three. Avery Six and Grant Sobaski had two a piece.

Washington improves to 12-1 on the season and wins its sixth straight. Up next the Demons will travel to Mt. Pleasant for a matchup with the Panthers.