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SEC Friday: It’s on!
No. 4 Washington hosts No. 1 Fort Madison in epic clash
Andy Krutsinger
Feb. 3, 2022 9:52 am
It’s titan vs. titan. It’s Top-5 vs. Top-5. First place vs. First place, and likely No. 1 substate seed vs. No. 1 substate seed, and it happens at Washington High School on Friday night.
The Fourth-ranked Washington boys basketball team (14-2, 7-1) will host No. 1 Fort Madison in a battle of a pair of Top-5 teams in Class 3A.
To say there is a lot on the line would be an understatement. Not only will the game make a big splash in next week’s Associated Press boys basketball poll, but it will make an even bigger one in the Southeast Conference standings.
Two-time defending champion Washington and powerhouse Fort Madison, two senior led basketball teams, will be playing for at least a share of the conference title. The winner of Friday night’s game will be alone in first with just one more league game to play.
Fort Madison has won the last two matchups between the two teams. Before that, Washington had won six-straight for the Demons. Before that, it was 10-in-a-row for Fort Madison. In the last 25 meetings, Fort Madison holds a slim 13-12 series lead.
A dominant first quarter pushed Fort Madison to the top of the SEC standings on Dec. 21, when the Bloodhounds outscored the Demons 20-5 in the first eight minutes en route to a 56-46 victory. Up until last week, that had been Washington’s only loss of the season.
In that game, Fort Madison’s Miles Dear scored 19 points, and Dayton Davis chipped in 15. Kasen Bailey scored 18 for the Demons.
But the Bloodhounds are reeling. The last time out on the court, Fort Madison was blown past in the fourth quarter by Burlington. The hosting Grayhounds trailed 37-35 after three quarters but wound up winning 59-46.
Along with Friday night’s game against Washington, Fort Madison also will play Burlington one more time before the season ends. Washington still has a game against Keokuk, a team the Demons beat 65-49 the first time around.
Also in boys basketball, Mt. Pleasant (8-9, 3-5) and head coach Eric Rawson look for revenge against friend and former Panther coach Caleb Akey and Burlington (11-7, 6-2). The Grayhounds defeated the Panthers 43-31 earlier this season.
Fairfield (5-10, 1-7) looks for its second SEC win of the year at Keokuk (4-12, 0-8). The Trojans beat the Chiefs 55-42 earlier this year.
There are two SEC girls games on Friday night, as Mt. Pleasant (8-10, 3-5) and Burlington (0-16, 0-7) play on Thursday night. As of press time, that game has not begun.
The biggest girls game in the area is Fairfield (10-6, 6-2) at No. 12 (4A) Keokuk (15-3, 9-0), a matchup of the Top-2 teams in the league.
Fairfield looks for payback against a Chiefs team that defeated them 54-46 on the Trojans’ own home floor earlier this year. Danielle Breen scored 14 in that game, but Keokuk star Abby Wolter had 21.
That game would have been a shot for Fairfield to get a share of the SEC title, but the Trojans’ overtime loss to Fort Madison last week and Keokuk’s overtime win over Mt. Pleasant clinched the top spot for the Chiefs.
Washington (3-14, 2-7) will travel to Fort Madison (10-4, 4-3) in search of its first win in five tries against the Bloodhounds. Fort Madison dominated the first game, 49-18, behind a 23-point outing for star Malarie Ross.
Listed below are the current SEC standings, with the teams’ conference records listed first. The online version will be updated after Mt. Pleasant’s girls game against Burlington on Thursday night.
SEC BOYS BASKETBALL STANDINGS
T-1. Fort Madison 7-1, 14-2
T-1. Washington 7-1, 14-2
3. Burlington 6-2, 11-7
4. Mt. Pleasant 8-9, 3-5
5. Fairfield 5-10, 1-7
6. Keokuk 4-12, 0-8
SEC GIRLS BASKETBALL STANDINGS
1. Keokuk 15-3, 9-0
2. Fairfield 10-6, 6-2
3. Fort Madison 10-4, 4-3
4. Mt. Pleasant 8-10, 3-5
5. Washington 3-14, 2-7
6. Burlington 0-16, 0-7
Kasen Bailey lines up a 3-pointer during the second half of Washington’s 56-45 win over Mt. Pleasant on Jan. 21. On Friday night, Bailey and the Demons will battle for first place in the Southeast Conference in a home game against Keokuk. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
Payton Hagans’ puts up a shot in the first half of the Panther’s 55-43 victory over Regina Catholic on Feb. 1, 2022. Hagans finished with a team-high 15 points. (Hunter Moeller/The Union)
Kelsey Pacha hits a corner shot in Fairfield’s 56-26 victory over Albia on Jan. 31, 2022. (Hunter Moeller/The Union)