JACKSON — It was the final night of the regular season for the Washington Blue Lion (14-3, 7-2 FAC) and Jackson Ironmen (15-6, 5-4 FAC) boys basketball teams on Tuesday as they went toe-to-toe in a Frontier Athletic Conference showdown.

It was a tightly contested battle with several lead changes throughout, but the Blue Lions ultimately prevailed, 56-50.

The opening quarter was low-scoring for both teams as the Ironmen led 6-5 going into the second period.

Jackson took a one-point lead into the half, 23-22, on a layup at the buzzer from freshman C.J. Crabtree.

Washington jumped out to a 30-24 lead early in the third quarter, but the Ironmen rallied to take a 33-32 lead just minutes later.

The Blue Lions regained the lead on a floater from sophomore Noah Haithcock, and extended the lead further with a free throw from senior Gabe Tayese and a three from junior Will Miller.

After a made free throw from Jackson had them down 38-34, two free throws from Washington senior John Wall to close out the quarter made it 40-34 with one period remaining.

Washington had their biggest lead of the night, 44-36, after a strong drive and finish at the rim from Miller.

From that point, the Ironmen went on a 6-0 run to get within two and force a Blue Lion timeout with 4:41 left in the game.

Over the next four minutes, both teams traded baskets with Washington taking a four point lead and Jackson answering to cut the lead to two points.

Blue Lion senior Isaiah Haithcock made a layup to make it 54-50 with 18.6 seconds to go and Washington called a full timeout.

Out of the timeout, Jackson was unable to score and was forced to foul Washington senior Garrett Rickman. Rickman made both free throw attempts to make it 56-50 which was the final score.

“I’m really happy that the guys gutted out the win,” said Washington head coach Shannon Bartruff. “We didn’t shoot it great at times, but we also played really smart on offense in the second half. Us keeping and increasing the lead with Zay (Isaiah Haithcock) on the bench was big (Haithcock picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter). They got to the rim too easy at times but we made plays when we needed to. Winning at Jackson isn’t easy, so I’m really proud of the effort.”

Statistically for Washington, John Wall led the team with 14 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Isaiah Haithcock was next with 13 points, five rebounds, and one steal.

Garrett Rickman followed with 11 points, four assists, and two rebounds.

Gabe Tayese and Will Miller each added seven points.

Tayese also contributed two rebounds, two blocks, and a steal, while Miller chipped in four assists, two rebounds and a steal.

Noah Haithcock rounded out the scoring with four points to go with four blocks, four rebounds, and two assists.

Washington (15-3, 8-2 FAC) finishes the regular season in second place in the FAC as Miami Trace defeated Hillsboro on Tuesday to win the outright league title.

The Blue Lions will now look to the sectional tournament where they will host the winner of Logan Elm and Athens next Tuesday at 7 p.m. Logan Elm and Athens will play at Logan Elm on Saturday at 2 p.m.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

J 6 17 11 16 — 50

W 5 17 18 16 — 56

WASHINGTON — Garrett Rickman 2 (1)-4-11; John Wall 4 (1)-3-14; Will Miller 2 (1)-0-7; Noah Haithcock 2-0-4; Gabe Tayese 2-3-7; Isaiah Haithcock 5 (1)-0-13. TOTALS — 17 (4)-10-56. Free throw shooting: 10 of 15 for 67 percent. Three-point field goals: I. Haithcock, Wall, Rickman, Miller. Field goal shooting: 21 of 44 for 48 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 4 of 14 for 29 percent. Turnovers: 10. Rebounds: 21 (7 offensive). Blocked shots: 6. Assists: 12. Steals: 5.

JACKSON — Stephen Jenkins 2 (1)-6-13; Charlie Woodard 2-0-4; Ryan Seimetz 0-2-2; Bodhi Wolford 4-0-8; Jax Carroll 0 (1)-0-3; Boston Campbell 5 (1)-5-18; C.J. Crabtree 1-0-2. TOTALS — 14 (3)-13-50. Free throw shooting: 13 of 16 for 81 percent. Three-point field goals: Jenkins, Carroll, Campbell. Turnovers: 9.

Washington j-v defeats Jackson

In the j-v contest, Washington would win by a score of 41-25.

Statistically for the Blue Lions, Jeston Everhart led with 16 points, followed by Javin Baker with six, Avery Wightman and Cooper Robertson with five, Bryson Heath with four, Aden Osborne with three, and C.J. Davis with two.

The j-v team ends their season with a record of 12-6.

Blue Lion freshman win over Ironmen

In the j-v contest, Washington won 30-24.

Statistically for the Blue Lions, Evan Wilson led with 12 points, followed by Kiontae Tyree with seven, Xavier Malone with four, Channing Wightman and Quinton Marine with two, and Austin Hughes and Aden Osborne with one point each.

The freshman finished their season with a record of 9-6.