Bloodhounds’ press throttles Demons

FORT MADISON - The defensive strategy each game isn't any different for the Fort Madison High School boys basketball team. It proved to be effective in a win Friday at the Hound-Dome.

The Bloodhounds limited Washington, which could have clinched a tie for the Southeast Conference title, to just five points in the second quarter and staved off a late rally by the Demons for a 70-62 victory.

FMHS is 4-5 in league play, 9-8 overall. Washington drops to 6-3, 12-5.

Dayton Davis scored 15 of his game-high 29 points in Fort Madison's 19-14 first quarter. He gathered 15 rebounds in the game, eight of them on offense.

But the defense fed the offense, as it's intended to.

The Bloodhounds zone press rattles opponents even without steals, but 16 of the Demons' 21 turnovers were the result of the press.

The Bloodhounds made nine stops to start the second quarter and only Trashuan Williams scored the five points for Washington.

FM HS coach Ryan Wilson said he went primarily with a 1-2-2 defense after the first few games and occasionally switches to a 2-3 or man-to-man.

But the three-quarter-court zone press has been giving teams fits, and WHS coach Collin Stark noticed.

'It's about the turnovers,” Stark said. 'You want to attack the basket and get the ball moving. We were taking bad shots,” and most of those came after the Demons would beat the press. 'Credit Fort Madison, they've got a lot of length.”

Turnovers down the stretch in the earlier meeting allowed Washington to claim victory. 'We talked about how we got down 21-9, but dominated the second half,” Wilson said.

Washington led 12-9 midway through the first quarter Friday, but the Hounds finished it on a 10-2 run.

'Our kids got a lot of deflections early,” Wilson said. He said each quarter goal is 'hold our opponents to single digits.”

Fort Madison outscored Washington 10-5 in the second quarter and padded the lead to 16 by the end of the third.

Washington finally started hitting from outside and cut the lead to six, 62-56, with 1 minute, 24 seconds remaining. The Bloodhounds' 11-of-17 foul shooting in the fourth was enough as the Demons went cold from outside. Williams scored nine in the game and made both his free throws at: 58.7, and Turnbull (10 points) sank two at: 48.

Willis scored 17 points and Ethan Patterson had 16 for the Demons. Travis Leyden totaled 12 and Lance Sobaski 11, nine of them in the second half.

Coach Wilson and his players have complimented the vocal student body. Washington players came out dejected after the postgame talk and one looked at the then-empty bleachers where the FMHS students cheered.

He said it must be nice to have student support. Washington High School allows limited fans with vouchers that just gets mostly parents at the games. He said the student section 'made a difference” in the game.

'We didn't quite have the energy we needed to seal up the conference,” Stark said. 'We still control our own destiny. With a win Friday (at home against Keokuk), we will win two titles in a row.”