Demons make a statement

BURLINGTON — It isn’t hard to see why Friday night’s boys basketball matchup between Washington and Burlington was a key one in the early stages of the Southeast Conference race.

In the first battle of the year between the two defending SEC champions, it was the Demons who came out on top, holding off the Grayhounds 75-69 on Burlington’s own home floor to get a head start in the league race.

“We had to grind that one out a little bit,” said Washington head coach Collin Stark. “But Fairfield was the same way.”

The Demons had to face adversity early. Burlington’s Amarion Davis was red-hot early on, scoring 14 points in the first quarter and 23 in the first half.

Luckily for Washington, the Demons found a hot hand of their own. Ethan Patterson put up 15 in the opening half to help the Demons crawl back from a 16-10 first quarter deficit to tie the game at 37-37 just before the half.

“My teammates were setting great screens,” Patterson said. “Kasen (Bailey) was finding me, and I was just hitting my shots. I did the easy part.”

The Demons really took over in the third quarter. Washington’s defense clamped down early and the Demons were able to torch the Grayhounds with a few early fast break points, starting the third quarter on a 13-3 run to find themselves up double digits.

Washington led 59-49 after three quarters and had a strong start to the fourth, but Burlington eventually cut it back to two possessions.

“We got a little ahead of ourselves,” Patterson said. “We just had to slow the game down.”

Burlington, however, never had a chance to tie it back up or take the lead, and Washington won their fourth game in a row to start the season.

“Guys are stepping up when we need it,” Stark said.

Patterson ended the game with 23 points. Lance Sobaski scored 17. Bailey had 15. Travis Leyden finished with 10. Lance Kroll scored four, and Aden Six had one.

Washington will take its 4-0 overall record into Oskaloosa on Tuesday night. The Demons are now tied in first with Fort Madison in the SEC, at 2-0 apiece.