Demon boys close out late

MT. PLEASANT — When shots needed to fall for the fourth-ranked Washington boys basketball team on Friday night, they did just that. The Demons used a handful of late 3-point baskets and an immaculate night at the free-throw line to skate past rival Mt. Pleasant, 56-45.

The Panthers were able to give the Demons quite the sweat, but Washington sank a trifecta of 3-pointers in the final nine minutes of the game to hold off Mt. Pleasant’s rush.

“This is a big rivalry game,” said Washington head coach Collin Stark. “We knew it was going to be tough.”

The first of those three shots came from Travis Leyden, who sank a 3-pointer in the final minute of the third quarter to push the lead to six. Ethan Patterson brought the lead from four to seven on a long ball off a Demon offensive rebound with 6:20 remaining, and Kasen Bailey rattled in a step-back trey from the corner with 2:40 left to push the lead to seven again.

“They were really trying to slow us down, so every possession was more important,” said Patterson. “It was big to hit our shots.”

Mt. Pleasant made it a half-court game in the first half, and stayed right with the Demons. Owen Vansickel hit three 3-pointers in the first two quarters, and Washington’s leads were slim, at 14-12 after one quarter and 24-23 at halftime.

The Panthers held a one-point lead early in the third quarter but Washington quickly took it back, and the Demons wouldn’t let the Panthers get the lead for the rest of the night.

Helped out by Leyden’s deep ball in the final ticks of the third period, Washington held a 39-32 lead going into the fourth quarter. Mt. Pleasant cut the lead back down to one possession, but the Demons were hot from beyond the arc, and even hotter at the free-throw line.

Washington didn’t miss a free throw in the fourth quarter and missed just one all night.

“You've got to try to catch some breaks against a really good team like Washington,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Eric Rawson. “It just seemed like when we needed those breaks, they didn't happen.”

After scoring just three points in the first half, Patterson dropped 15 in the second to lead the Demons with 18 overall. Bailey finished with 13. Lucas Kroll had 12. Lyden scored seven. Aden Six had four, and Ajay Six pitched in with two.

Payton Hagans scored 13 points to lead Mt. Pleasant. Vansickel had 12. Dewon Trent scored 10. Aaiden Ashton had eight, and Carter Amos put in two.

Washington moved to 12-1 overall with the win. The Demons are now 6-1 in Southeast Conference play. Mt. Pleasant fell to 4-9 and 2-5.