Mt. Pleasant leaps to 1st

MT. PLEASANT — An epic Southeast Conference boys basketball showdown took place in Mt. Pleasant on Friday night, as the Panthers hosted Washington with first place on the line.

It was the Panthers who answered the call, using a huge fourth quarter to pull past the rival Demons 62-49.

The Panthers scored 22 points in the fourth quarter, turning what was a two-point Demon lead early in the final period to a 13-point Mt. Pleasant victory.

“I'm just so happy for these guys, and the program,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Eric Rawson. “It's a huge win for us, and the community.”

Mt. Pleasant bursted out of the locker room for an early lead, as senior guard Aaiden Ashton was red-hot, scoring 15 points in the opening period to help push the Panthers to a 21-13 lead.

“The games we start well in, we start to finish well,” said Washington head coach Collin Stark. “The games where we start to dig ourselves a hole early, that's where we're constantly trying to play catch up.”

Indeed, the Demons were playing catch up for most of the game, but they did a pretty good job of it in the next two quarters. Washington clawed back to cut the Mt. Pleasant lead to 29-25 at halftime, and even had a brief lead in the third quarter before the Panthers took back a 40-39 lead at the end of the third.

Washington grabbed the lead in the fourth, as Ethan Patterson hit a corner 3-pointer in the opening minute, right in front of the Washington student section, to give the Demons a 42-40 advantage.

Mt. Pleasant’s Payton Hagans, however, hit a contested layup on the other end, and that sparked a huge closeout quarter for the Panthers. Mt. Pleasant would end the game on a 22-8 run.

“We just wanted it more,” said Ashton. “We just kept up the pressure.”

The game was still as tight as can be until the final couple of minutes, when Hagans took the score from a four-point Panther lead to eight points with back-to-back layups. Washington, on the other hand, when cold in the final two minutes.

Ashton scored 15 more points in the second half to end the game with a career-high 30. Hagans finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds and five steals.

“It feels great,” said Ashton after the game. “A home win, and we're protecting our house.”

Chris Ewoldt was Mt. Pleasant’s third-leading scorer, with four points. Nate Stroud and Owen Vansickel scored three each. Carter Amos and Noah Lange both finished with one.

Patterson scored 20 points in the loss to lead the Panthers. Aden Six finished with 13. Ajay Six scored six. Logan McDole and Avery Six put up four points each, and Evan Van Der Molen added two.

Mt. Pleasant is now the only team in the SEC with a 3-0 record. Burlington and Washington sit one game back, at 2-1.

“I know Mt. Pleasant is 3-0 now, and they definitely have earned that 3-0,” said Stark. “But I think it's going to be a dogfight until the end.”

The SEC schedule continues on Tuesday, when Washington hosts Fort Madison and Mt. Pleasant travels to Burlington.