Daily Newsletters
Account
Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Strong fourth quarter powers Washington over Ottumwa
Four Demons finish in double figures
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
Washington was not allowed to coast in the second half against Ottumwa on Monday. The Demons had to flip a first quarter deficit — sparked by turnover troubles — then come back after the Bulldogs took the lead early in the final stanza to close out a 67-58 victory.
With 6:18 left in the game, Washington coach Collin Stark called timeout to talk with his team. The Demons just surrendered a 10-0 run and the lead, which was now 50-49 in favor of Ottumwa.
“One of the focuses that I have (in timeouts) is making sure that even if we go on a run and now all of a sudden they call a timeout; what are we doing next on our offensive possession?” Stark said. “It’s a good time to either draw something up or go to something that we are seeing.”
What emerged from any drawn up play in the timeout ended in a critical second chance opportunity for the Demons. Rajan Roth pounced on a missed 3-pointer by Nic Stone. Roth was rewarded for his effort when Stone then found him with a nice pass for a layup.
Ottumwa didn’t pull back ahead for the rest of the game. The Demons scored 11 of their final 18 points at the free throw line, taking advantage after entering the bonus with 3:10 to play. Two of Washington’s four double-digit scorers, Roth and Kael Williams, combined for 13 of those 18 points.
The Bulldogs were given one last lifeline with 1:46 to play. With a 58-54 lead, Washington was hit with a technical foul against Aidan Schmitz. The Bulldogs were awarded two free throws - which Cedrik VanEngelenhoven sunk - and the basketball. VanEngelenhoven, who led Ottumwa with 16 points, missed a jumper on the ensuing possession, keeping Washington ahead by two.
The Demons could have been conservative with their next possession. Instead, after breaking the Bulldogs press, Williams was left open in transition and buried a deep 3-pointer on the right wing to push the lead back to five.
“There's times where we try to get them to slow down a little bit, but ultimately we want to continue to have the attack,” Stark said. “So if we get a stop, we want to see if we can get an easy bucket right away, and if we need to we can slow it down, get into a set, make sure that we are ultimately getting the best look that we want and taking care of the ball.”
Williams made two more free throws to help Washington close the game. He finished with 14 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Stone was also in double figures with 10 points.
Drew Conrad led the Demons in scoring with 24 points, including three free throws in the final minutes. Roth scored 14 and manged to grab more rebounds than points with 17, including eight on the offensive end.
“Rebounding is all about effort,” Stark said. “Whenever we watch film, that's something that I need to make sure that we highlight is that his effort is contagious.”
The Demons second half response came after they saw a 15-7 run in the third quarter nullified as Ottumwa found a groove on offense. Ty Wetrich gave the Bulldogs a boost off the bench with 11 points on 3 of 6 from 3-point range and Mason Gravett scored 10 points.
The Bulldogs also started the game as the aggressors, jumping out to a 12-5 lead and forcing nine turnovers in the first quarter. Ottumwa tied the game at 17 going into the second after a Washington giveaway allowed Jace Mitchell to run out for an uncontested layup at the buzzer.
“I think we didn't come out with a ton of energy,” Stone said. “Honestly it kind of knocked us in the mouth a little bit, but I think as a team we battled back defensively and shots started to fall.”
Washington was able to adjust and handle the ball better over the next three quarters. It also forced 19 Ottumwa giveaways, allowing defensive pressure to create easy offense, which gave the Demons the cushion it needed to hold off an Ottumwa comeback.
Washington is now up to nine wins on the season, which matches its win total in 2024-25. The Demons sit 3-3 in Southeast Conference play with four SEC games left on its schedule. They also face nonconference tests against Mid-Prairie, Williamsburg, West Liberty and Solon before postseason play.
