Washington Boys Basketball

Unsung heroes lift Jeff by Wash

The Jefferson boys got good games from their go-to guys Friday night at Washington.

But it may have been the play of some unsung role players that made the difference in a come-from-behind 62-58 victory.

Stalwarts Royshawn Webb, Dennis McKinney and Adam Van Oort all scored in double figures for the J-Hawks. But it was senior reserve Treyton McCauley who gave them their first lead of the game on a looping 3-pointer with a minute to go in the third quarter.

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Smith-Drahos paces Hawks by Warriors

Max Smith-Drahos scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Prairie boys basketball team to a 78-65 win over Washington in a Mississippi Valley Conference game Tuesday at Prairie.

Jalen Rima collected 20 points, seven rebounds and five steals for the Prairie Hawks (7-11, 5-8). Cal Clark added 14 points.

Hunter Strait led the Warriors (6-11, 3-9) with 22 points. Laveechie Williams scored 15 points and had 11 rebounds. Keion Wills added 12 points.

WASHINGTON (65): Wills 4 2-2 12, Strait 5-6 22, Dawson 2 0-0 4, Hobbs 3 2-2 2, Thomas 2 2-2 7, Jackson 1 0-0 3, Williams 7 1-2 15. Totals 23 12-14 65.

PRAIRIE (78): Copeland 1 3-3 5, Clark 4 5-5 14, Smith-Drahos 9 7-7 25, Eilers 1 1-2 4, Rima 7 5-11 20, Hook 1 0-0 2, Serbousek 1 2-2 4, Oxley 2 0-0 4. Totals 26 23-30 78.

Halftime – Prairie 31, Washington 28. 3-point goals – Washington 7 (Strait 3, Wills 2, Thomas, Jackson), Prairie 3 (Clark, Eilers, Rima).

Washington boys bump off Kennedy

Justin Decker was happy and optimistic about the future when he left the Kennedy High School gym Friday night.

Jon McKowen was disappointed and frustrated.

Guess who won?

The Washington Warriors played a solid game from start to finish and defeated the Cougars, 58-42, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game that paired two Metro clubs in desperate need of victories.

Washington raised its records to 6-10 overall and 3-8 in the league. Kennedy fell to 6-11 overall and 4-8 in the MVC.

"To be honest, we played the best we have all year defensively," said Decker, in his first year as the head coach at Washington. "I challenged our guys to play a 32-minute game and we finally got one out of them.

"It's great to see that they're still buying in."

McKowen led Kennedy to the Class 4A state tournament in his first two years as head coach, but this year's club has not jelled and appears to have issues with team chemistry.

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Burger nets 30 as Saints top Wash

Xavier boys basketball coach Ryan Luehrsmann rolled the dice with Mitchell Burger on Friday night and hit the jackpot.

Burger shook off early foul problems and poured in 30 points as the Saints pulled away from Washington, 74-55, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at Xavier.

The Saints, who are ranked No. 2 in Class 3A, raised their overall record to 13-2 and climbed to 9-1 in the MVC.

Burger picked up his second foul with 2:08 left in the first period and sat for awhile, but Luehrsmann put him back in the game with 16 seconds left in the quarter and the Saints trailing 13-9.

Burger never left the floor again and played a terrific game with five 3-pointers and great leadership, especially after backcourt buddy Matt Mims left the game in the third quarter with a sprained ankle.

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