Burlington recovers from 16-point deficit, but falls six

One night when the ties were crazy, the Washington high school boys’ basketball team had a pair of aces up their sleeve.

While Burlington’s Amarion Davis and Washington’s Ethan Patterson – each wearing the No.2 jersey – combined to score 53 points, Washington’s Lance Sobaski and Kasen Bailey each scored 17 points to lead the Demons to a 75-69 victory. of the Southeastern Grayhounds Conference Friday on the Don Gibbs Court at the Johannsen Gymnasium.

While the two prolific goal scorers wowed and wowed the crowd, it was Sobaski and Bailey who did the most damage that night.

“A bit of that was the game plan. We knew that when we got to Patterson, we were going to be able to enlighten him. We did a good job on him early on, ”said BHS head coach Caleb Akey. “Then we spread out a bit too much and they were able to come down in the middle. It was a recipe for disaster. We were trying to invite a little more midrange stuff. We just gave them a little too much space and let them reach the rim instead of stopping them. “

These third trimester slump

BHS (2-3 overall, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) struggled in the third quarter of games this season. The Grayhounds have been dominated by a combined 82-59 third-quarter margin this season, including a whopping 58-25 in their three losses.

Friday the game was tied at 37 at halftime. Washington scored the first six points of the third quarter and took a 59-49 lead in the fourth.

Washington posted a record 71.4 percent (10-for-14) in the quarter, while the BHS was a freezing 3-for-13 (23 percent) in the quarter.

“They hit a few knocks. They ran to the ground. We did not move our feet in defense. All the stuff we preach into practice every day, every ride, at halftime. It just wasn’t there, ”Akey said. “It’s kind of how we operate. We need to brainstorm some ideas and see if maybe we can come out at halftime with a little different energy level than we had.

Another frantic comeback

The Grayhounds widened a 16-point hole, trailing 56-43 after two straight Patterson baskets with 1 minute and 40 seconds left in the third quarter.

BHS has recovered its way. The Grayhounds went on a 13-0 streak, scoring the first seven points of the final quarter to come closer to 59-56. Tyce Bertlshofer and Nate Spear each scored 3 points, Brock Dengler converted a three-point play and Davis and Merquiche Lewis, Jr. each had a pair of free throws to boost the rally.

“We continue to be aggressive and we continue to fight. I am happy to have reviewed the resilience. We’re going to fix that until we don’t have that big hole to come out of, ”Akey said. “I can’t fault the kids for saying, Hey, it’s time to turn the tide. They certainly did tonight. When you can, you will be competitive in most matches. And most of us have been this year. “

Davis goes big

Davis has had the decisive game Akey and the coaching staff have been waiting for since his explosion of 17 points in the season opener against Davenport North. Davis scored in a variety of ways – driving lay-ups, mid-range jumpers and 3-point shots. And he was 11 for 11 on the free throw line.

Davis scored 23 of his 30 points in the first half.

On a night when Lewis and Spear both had fault issues – both fouled in the fourth quarter – Davis took over.

“He had a good night’s sleep. He really hasn’t been himself this season, ”Akey said. “He started the year really pushing hard and being aggressive against Davenport North. Then the last three games I could tell something was wrong. The competitor in him said he was fine. Really tonight he faced a really physical basketball team. It was nice to see him take charge a bit. “

On the horizon

After traveling to play Cedar Rapids Prairie on Saturday, the Grayhounds traveled to Galesburg, Illinois on Tuesday and then to Fairfield on Dec. 17 in the last game before the Christmas vacation.

By the numbers

WASHINGTON (75)

Travis Layden 4-6 0-2 10, Ethan Patterson 8-11 2-2 23, Lance Sobaski 7-14 3-7 17, Kasen Bailey 5-8 6-10 17, Lucas Kroll 1-2 2-4 4, Aden Six 1-4 2-4 4, Ajay Six 0-1 0-0 0, Avery Six 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 26-46 15-29 75.

BURLINGTON (69)

Nate Spear 1-3 0-0 3, Amarion Davis 8-14 11-11 30, Tyce Bertlshofer 1-4 2-2 5, Jack Carlson 1-7 2-3 4, Merquiche Lewis Jr. 2-5 6-6 11, Brock Dengler 2-3 1-1 6, Dayton Walsh 2-8 2-2 ​​7, Juan Reyes 1-1 1-2 3, Kanyae Baker 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 18-47 25-27 69.

Quarter score

Washington. 10. 27. 22 16. – 75

Burlington. 16. 21. 12. 20. – 69

Fouls: Washington 20, Burlington 22. Crowd : Kroll, Spear, Lewis. Techniques : Nothing. 3-point goals: Washington 8-16 (Patterson 5-8, Layden 2-3, Bailey 1-2, Ajay Six 0-1, Aden Six 0-2), Burlington 8-23 (Davis 3-6, Lewis 1-1, Spear 1 -2, Dengler 1-2, Bertlshofer 1-3, Walsh 1-6, Carlson 0-3).

Recordings: Washington 4-0 overall (2-0 Southeastern Conference), Burlington 2-3 (1-1).