Stone’s 33 lifts Washington past West Liberty

The Washington boys basketball team held on in a close matchup against West Liberty on Tuesday. The Demons fought off a pesky Comets side for a 63-58 win.

Washington saved its highest scoring quarter for last with 20 points in the fourth. Nic Stone carried the Demons with 33 points, including 11 in the final eight minutes. His last points of the night came at the free throw line where he made two to gave Washington a 61-55 lead.

Those free throws were the first two points after the Comets cut into a 59-48 Demons lead with a 7-0 run. West Liberty hit a 3 after Stone’s free throws, but committed a turnover with its final possession after Drew Conrad split a pair at the line.

Conrad went 1 of 2 again after being fouled. He missed the second, but Kael Williams stole the ball after a Comets defensive rebound, which allowed Washington to run out the clock.

The Demons earned their narrow advantage in the fourth by winning the third quarter 18-11. Washington outscored West Liberty 38-29 in the second half.

West Liberty took a four point lead into the halftime break after holding Washington to just 25 points in the first half. The Demons managed 14 points in the second quarter after scoring 11 in the first.

Washington (12-9) will finish off the regular season against Class 3A No. 8 Solon on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Washington High School and will be streamed on the Southeast Iowa Live YouTube and Facebook pages.

The Demons will begin postseason play Monday after earning the No. 5 seed in the 3A Substate 5 bracket. Washington will face off against Southeast Conference foe and No. 4 seed Burlington, which it fell to by a combined 18 points in two losses during the regular season.