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Washington Evening Journal
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Washington, IA 52353
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Washington battles, falls short against No. 8 Solon
Demons wrap up regular season, face Burlington in 3A playoffs
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The Washington boys basketball team hung with No. 8 Solon through the early portion of the fourth quarter Thursday night. The Demons weren’t intimidated by a ranked foe. But Solon eventually overcame Washington’s spunk, resulting in a 71-57 win for the Spartans.
The Demons found themselves down just nine points with 4:48 to play. Efficient shot selection helped Washington cut into a 17-point Solon lead after three quarters with an 11-3 run to start the fourth.
In need of a few more positive plays on offense, Washington wasn’t able to maintain its momentum after Solon called timeout following a Nic Stone 3 that cut it to nine. The Demons committed turnovers on three of their next four possessions and fell behind by 15 with 2:15 to play.
“When we did turn the ball over it went in stretches, and we just can't have that,” Washington coach Collin Stark said. “You can have a turnover or a mistake here or there, but we can't get two to three, sometimes four in a row. That’s where then, all of a sudden, they get on a run.”
Solon’s Tate McCollum, son of Iowa men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum, led all scorers with 27 points. McCollum scored 13 in the first half, but was held to just three points in the third before he hit a he hit a step back 3 at the buzzer to give Solon its 17-point advantage heading into the fourth.
The Demons were unable to contain both McCollum and Maddox Kelley. Kelley entered the game averaging 9.5 points, but shot an efficient 7 of 9 from the field and made two 3s to finish with 18 Thursday.
Washington was led by Stone’s 22 points. The junior drilled five timely 3-pointers to help the Demons keep pace.
Stone maintained his excellent form despite the loss. The talented sharpshooter came into Thursday’s game off a 33-point outing, including eight made 3s, against West Liberty on Feb. 17. Stone racked up 53 points over Washington’s final two regular season games.
“It was probably a couple weeks ago that something clicked,” Stark said. “You just saw it in his eye that when he catches the ball, he feels like he can knock down (shots) no matter how close that defender is.”
Kael Williams also had a strong scoring night for Washington with 17 points. Rajan Roth joined Williams and Stone in double figures with 10. Drew Conrad scored five and Tate Greiner finished with three.
Washington (12-10) already knew its playoff path before tipoff Thursday. The Demons received the No. 5 seed in the Class 3A Substate 5 bracket and will face off against No. 4 seed and fellow Southeast Conference side Burlington.
It will be the second time in 10 days Burlington and Washington have faced each other after the Grayhounds handed the Demons a 64-56 loss Feb. 17. Washington fell 66-56 to Burlington on Jan. 9 at home.
Tipoff for the postseason rematch between the Demons and Grayhounds is set for 7 p.m. Monday at Burlington High School. The winner will face the winner between No. 1 seed Pella and No. 8 seed Fairfield on Feb. 26.
