Washington’s five senior basketball players were honored prior to the game against Logan Elm on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. (pictured, l-r); Isaiah Haithcock, Logan Presley, Garrett Rickman, John Wall, and Gabe Tayese.
Photos by Mary Kay West
Washington’s four senior cheerleaders were recognized prior to the game against Logan Elm on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. (pictured, l-r); Tyrena Cowman, Addison Knisley, Maryn Mustain, and Annie Rayburn.
Photos by Mary Kay West
Blue Lion senior Isaiah Haithcock (30) makes a layup through contact during the first half of the senior night game against Logan Elm on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. Pictured for Logan Elm is Camm Redd (0) and Kyle Rine (1). Also pictured for Washington is Garrett Rickman (1).
Photos by Mary Kay West
Washington High School athletic director Greg Phipps (left) was honored for his service to the school district at the end of the first quarter of the game against Logan Elm on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. Phipps is set to retire following the 2023-24 school year. Pictured at right is Washington High School principal Brady Streitenberger.
Photos by Mary Kay West
It was senior night for the Blue Lions (13-3, 7-2 FAC) on Saturday as they welcomed the Logan Elm Braves (8-11, ) for a non conference basketball contest. Washington started all five of their seniors: Garrett Rickman, John Wall, Gabe Tayese, Logan Presley, and Isaiah Haithcock.
Led by their seniors, the Blue Lions led early and often and cruised to a 62-35 win.
Not only did Washington secure the victory on senior night, they finished with the regular season undefeated on their home court, becoming the first Blue Lion basketball team to accomplish this feat in well over a decade.
Washington led 15-11 after the opening quarter.
One of the better plays of the game came in the closing moments of the second quarter, as Tayese made a tremendous effort to record a steal and found Rickman for a layup at the buzzer, giving Washington a 32-17 halftime lead.
The Blue Lions led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter, and took a 45-24 lead into the final period.
The first score of the fourth quarter was a three from Presley which brought the home crowd to a roar.
With around three minutes remaining in the contest and a 30-point lead, the five Blue Lion seniors were subbed out of the game and received a standing ovation from the fans in attendance.
Statistically for Washington, Garrett Rickman led all scorers with 19 points and had eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
John Wall and Isaiah Haithcock each scored 17 points.
Wall had four rebounds, three assists, and two steals, and Haithcock had four rebounds and two steals.
Logan Presley and Jacob Lindsey were next with three points each.
Presley added three rebounds and a steal, and Lindsey contributed three offensive rebounds and a steal.
Will Miller scored two points and had one rebound and one steal.
Gabe Tayese rounded out the scoring with one point and added one rebound, two steals and one blocked shot.
Noah Haithcock added four rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot to the teams total, and Roman Chijevsky recorded an assist.
“I’m really proud of the effort of our guys tonight,” said Blue Lion head coach Shannon Bartruff. “I thought we were dominant on defense and that started with Gabe Tayese and his defense on number 24 (Nemiah Waugh).
“Our entire team team defense was great. We were in help and we pressured the ball. Offensively, I thought we were really good too. We shared the ball and maybe missed some layups that we normally make, but there was a lot of contact on those and they were tough finishes.
“Again, I’m just really proud of the team’s effort and really proud of our seniors tonight. I want to thank all of the Blue Lion fans that showed up and supported our young men and especially our seniors on senior night.”
Washington (14-3, 7-2 FAC) will play their final regular season game on Tuesday at Jackson (15-6, 5-4 FAC) with a 7:15 p.m. varsity tip.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
H 11 6 7 11 — 35
W 15 17 13 17 — 62
WASHINGTON — Garrett Rickman 7-5-19; John Wall 6 (1)-2-17; Bryson Heath 0-0-0; Javin Baker 0-0-0; Will Miller 1-0-2; Noah Haithcock 0-0-0; Gabe Tayese 0-1-1; Jeston Everhart 0-0-0; Logan Presley 0 (1)-0-3; Roman Chijevsky 0-0-0; Isaiah Haithcock 4 (2)-3-17; Jacob Lindsey 1-1-3. TOTALS — 19 (4)-12-62. Free throw shooting: 12 of 17 for 71 percent. Three-point field goals: I. Haithcock 2, Wall, Presley. Field goal shooting: 23 of 47 for 49 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 4 of 8 for 50 percent. Turnovers: 12. Rebounds: 28 (7 offensive). Blocked shots: 2. Assists: 8. Steals: 10.
HILLSBORO — Camm Redd 2-0-4; Kyle Rine 0-2-2; Tyler Speas 1 (1)-0-5; Brody Neff 0 (2)-0-6; Carson Summers 1-1-3; Aiden Williams 0-0-0; Jude Palmer 0 (2)-0-6; Nemiah Waugh 1 (1)-1-6; Keegan Diehl 0-0-0. TOTALS — 5 (7)-4-35. Free throw shooting: 9 of 11 for 82 percent. Three-point field goals: Davis 4, Howland 2, Kibler. Turnovers: 13.
Blue Lion j-v team loses to Braves
In the j-v contest, Washington would fall by a score of 46-38, moving them to 11-6 on the season.
Statistically for the Blue Lions, Javin Baker led with 15 points, followed by Jeston Everhart with 12, Bryson Heath with four, Avery Wightman with three, and Aden Osborne and Cooper Robertson each with two.
