Demons survive Trojans in boys basketball battle

FAIRFIELD — If the fifth-ranked Washington boys basketball team wants to win a third-straight Southeast Conference title, they are going to need to win the tough road games. That’s exactly what they did on Friday night.

Washington went into Fairfield, and despite a loud home court advantage and a fierce Trojan comeback attempt, they walked out with a 63-57 victory.

“We’ve got steps we need to take,” said Washington head coach Collin Stark. “We just need to get there.”

The win was a big step in getting back atop the SEC. It was Washington’s first game in the league since losing for the first time, to first-place Fort Madison.

The game was high-octane from the start. A back-and-forth first period ended 17-17, and Washington led 31-27 at the half, paced by star guards Ethan Patterson and Kasen Bailey, who each had eight points.

Fairfield star post Max Weaton struggled early. He was held relatively silent in the first half and got into foul trouble in the third quarter, aiding the Demon cause as Washington took a 48-46 lead into the fourth quarter.

“Max is a great presence down low,” said Washington big man Lucas Kroll. “We knew if we stopped him, it would be a majority of their offense.”

Along with his defense, Kroll also scored in bunches on the offensive end, putting up 18 points in three quarters.

“They were keying a lot on Patty and Kasen,” Kroll said. “That really opened up a lot of stuff in the lane.”

With Weaton on the bench with four fouls, Washington grew the lead to seven points in the fourth quarter, but his return sparked the Trojans and at one point, Fairfield had the game tied at 55-55, and it seemed to be momentum Trojans as the game reached the back stretch.

Washington, however, answered the call. Patterson nailed a go-ahead 3-pointer with just over 2:30 left, and Bailey followed with a layup to take the winds out of the sails of the Fairfield faithful.

The Trojans never evened up the game again.

“Anytime you get a road conference win, you need to feel good about it,” said Stark after the game. “I think our guys were excited for this win.”

Kroll finished with 20 points to lead Washington. Patterson had 18. Bailey scored 13. Aden Six had six points, and Travis Leyden finished with five.

Weaton scored 20 for the Trojans. JJ Lane finished with 15. Evan Haines and Tate Allen scored nine apiece and Myles McEntee chipped in five.

Washington is now 9-1 overall and 4-1 in conference play after another win on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Arena Shootout. Fairfield picked up a loss at the Shootout, dropping its record to 3-7, 1-4. Full results from those games will be in Tuesday’s edition of the Union.