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Washington storms back in Mt. Pleasant
Demons tie game in 3rd, pull away in 4th to move to 3-0 in SEC play
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MT. PLEASANT — The first-place Washington boys basketball team came into Mt. Pleasant on Friday night in search of a 3-0 start to the Southeast Conference schedule, but the hosting Panthers certainly made it tough.
Mt. Pleasant made Washington work for every inch, leading most of the night, but furious, comeback helped the Demons pull out the 61-50 rivalry win, bringing Washington to first place alone in the conference.
“This was just that typical, close, Southeast Conference basketball game,” said Demon head coach Collin Stark.
Mt. Pleasant, still looking for its first overall win of the season, rattled the Demons in the opening minutes. The Panthers led 12-8 after one quarter and 27-23 at halftime.
“We had some production from a few guys,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Eric Rawson. “That was nice to see, but we just kind of ran out of gas.”
Mt. Pleasant held a three-possession lead at one point in the third quarter, threatening to pull away from Washington before the Demons started to heat up.
“I think it’s just getting everybody re-centered,” said Washington senior Logan McDole. “We were getting won on ourselves, but by coming together and playing as a team, we were able to get back in the game.”
Washington battled back to tie the game before the end of the third quarter, knotting things up at 40-40. The Demons scored the first bucket of the fourth and never looked back.
Washington’s Logan McDole stepped up in the final two quarters, scoring 13 of his 19 points in the second half. He also led the Demons with four assists.
“Logan has played varsity for four years,” Coach Stark said. “That comes up big.”
Rajan Roth scored 15 points for Washington. Kael Williams poured in 10 off the bench. Nic Stone and Conner Leyden each had six points. Oliver Hobscheidt scored three, and Drew Conrad finished with two.
Mt. Pleasant’s Aiden Humble scored 16 points in the loss. Ian Reid had 12 points and five assists. Noah Lange went for 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Both teams will be back in action on Jan 3. Washington is 3-0, and will take on Fort Madison (2-1) at home. Mt. Pleasant (0-3) will play host to Keokuk (1-2).
