Washington senior guard John Wall (2) dribbles out the last few seconds of the fourth quarter as the Blue Lion faithful give their stamp of approval during the game against St. Charles on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. Wall led all scorers with 22 points on the night. Also pictured for Washington is sophomore Noah Haithcock (10). Pictured for St. Charles is Noah Nordstrom (2).
Photo by Christy Wall
COLUMBUS — The defending Frontier Athletic Conference champion Washington Blue Lion Basketball team kicked off the 2023-24 season on the road against St. Charles Preparatory School on Friday night.
This was the first game to be played in the Cardinals brand new basketball gymnasium. St. Charles played every game on the road last season as their gym was being erected.
After a very slow start and a poor first half shooting performance, Washington found themselves down 28-19 at the intermission.
The Blue Lions roared back in the second half and outscored the Cardinals 37-21 on their way to a 56-49 road victory.
The Blue Lions began the third quarter on a 9-2 run thanks to two threes from senior Garrett Rickman and a three from senior John Wall.
St. Charles would call a timeout with a 30-28 lead and 4:43 remaining in the period.
Out of the time out, Rickman stole a pass and found Will Miller for two points to tie the game for the first time since the opening tip.
The Cardinals would later regain a 36-33 lead before Rickman buried a triple to tie it at 36 late in the quarter.
St. Charles led 42-38 with just seconds left in the period, but the lead was cut to one point as Wall knocked down a three at the buzzer, making it 42-41 going into the fourth.
The Blue Lions found themselves tied at 44 just a few minutes into the quarter.
Washington would take their first lead of the game with less than five minutes remaining in the contest as Wall drove the baseline and found senior Isaiah Haithcock in the corner for three points and a 47-44 advantage.
The Blue Lions never lost the lead over the next four minutes and would come away for a 56-49 road victory.
Washington head coach Shannon Bartruff gave some comments following the win.
“I’m really proud of our effort to finish the first half and catch our momentum in the second half. Our defense won the game. It was extremely physical play tonight and we didn’t get a lot of calls, but we stayed together. We talked about it in the locker room before the game and it came to fruition. All seven guys that played tonight contributed in spurts. There’s only one first game in a new gym, and we pulled out the gutty win. We’ve got a lot to clean up, but I’m really proud of our guys.”
Statistically for Washington, Wall led all scorers with 22 points and added four rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block. Rickman was next in scoring with 16 points and had one rebound, two assists, and two steals. Isaiah Haithcock recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and also had one assist, steal, and block. Miller scored four points and led the team in assists with five. He also recorded one rebound and one steal. Gabe Tayese scored three points and added four rebounds and one steal. Noah Haithcock recorded four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.
Washington (1-0) will be back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 5 in their first FAC contest of the season, a road trip against Hillsboro (1-0). Hillsboro defeated Wilmington on Friday by a score of 62-52.
St. Charles (0-1) plays again on Saturday, Dec. 2 on the road at Eastmoor Academy.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
SC 14 14 14 7 — 49
W 11 8 22 15 — 56
WASHINGTON — Garrett Rickman 3 (3)-1-16; John Wall 4 (3)-5-22; Will Miller 2-0-4; Noah Haithcock 0-0-0; Gabe Tayese 1-1-3; Roman Chijevsky 0-0-0; Isaiah Haithcock 0-0-0. TOTALS — 14 (7)-7-56. Free throw shooting: 7 of 11 for 64 percent. Field goal percentage: 21 of 42 for 50 percent. Three-point field goal percentage: 7 of 14 for 50 percent. Three-point field goals: Rickman 3, Wall 3, I. Haithcock Turnovers: 14. Rebounds: 24 (5 offensive). Steals 7. Assists 13. Blocks 3.
ST CHARLES — Noah Nordstrom 1-0-2; Connor Cole 8 (1)-1-20; Jordan Hudson 2-0-4; Charlie Koesters 2-0-4; Reid Luffler 1 (2)-2-10; Isaac Willey 1 (1)-0-5; Marcus Nathan 0-0-0; Caden Shearn 2-0-4; TOTALS — 17 (4)-3-49. Free throw shooting: 3 of 4 for 75 percent. Three-point field goals: Luffler 2, Cole, Willey. Turnovers: 11
Washington j-v loses to St. Charles
In the j-v contest, St. Charles won by a score of 42-24.
Statistically for the Blue Lions, Jeston Everhart, Cooper Robertson, and Jordan Lamb each scored six, and Javin Baker, Avery Wightman, and Bryson Heath each added two.
Blue Lion freshman fall to St. Charles
In the freshman game, St. Charles won by a score of 39-13.
Statistically for Washington, Evan Wilson led the way with six points, followed by Kiontae Tyree, Xavier Malone, and Austin Hughes with two and Aden Osborne with one.
