Demons own the SEC

WASHINGTON — With a win over Fort Madison last week, the Washington boys basketball team clinched the Southeast Conference for the third year in a row.

A win over Keokuk on Friday night, would allow the Demons to stand alone at the top of the mountain. They did not disappoint.

“It’s a huge excitement,” Washington head coach Collin Stark said. “Last year it was a battle, we’re 7-3 and won it and this year it was still a battle, but we’re hopefully at a point with our program where this is what we’re measured on. Now we’re looking to make a state tournament run.”

Washington bested Keokuk 59-36 in the final conference game of the season.

“It [means] the world to me to build something so special from the ground up,” senior Lance Sobaski said. “When coach Stark took over, it’s only positive from there. My dad has coached our tournament team and my older brother’s tournament team and that helped us get that first conference championship. That got the wheels rolling. It feels so special.”

The Demons dominated in every aspect of the game from the jump.

Washington put together its best scoring quarter in the first, while quickly jumping out to a 13-3 lead halfway through the quarter. They ended the first with a 10 point advantage 20-10.

A three for the Chiefs to start the second quarter would be half their quarter total. Washington held Keokuk to just two more points over the course of the second, winning the quarter 15-5. The Washington lead was now 35-15 heading into the locker room.

The Demon’s struggled to find their outside shot in the contest, but that didn’t matter as they lived in the paint.

It was a great showing for the guys fighting down low, in Lucas Kroll and Lance Sobaski. The two have been integral for Washington all season.

“They have embraced their roll,” Stark said of Sobaski and Kroll. “They’re setting screens, they are taking advantage if a team wants to overplay. They’re going to get easy buckets. Offensive rebounds, that’s their time to be really aggressive. I was really happy with the fast break today. It’s those rolls and those positives that help us win.”

The third was nearly the same, with Washington putting together another great defensive effort to take the quarter 10-5, leading 45-20.

Keokuk would win the fourth 16-14, but it was too little too late.

Washington ended with a balanced scoring effort in the game. Lance Sobaski finished with 11 points for the Demons. Kasen Bailey had 10 points. Lucas Kroll and Travis Leyden had eight a piece. Ethan Patterson had seven. Aden Six added five. Ajay Six ended with four points. Grant Sobaski, Logan McDole, and Evan Van Der Molen each finished with two.

The Demons will be back in action on Thursday, Feb. 24 against Solon. It’s the last regular season game of the year, then it’s on to the postseason.

“We’ve got to play every game like it’s our last,” Sobaski said. “That brotherhood is tight. We’re all holding each other accountable. We all got mentally prepared and physically prepared. Just taking care of our bodies and taking care of each other. We all started the game having fun, let’s end it that way.”