Blue Lion senior Tanner Lemaster shoots a contested layup during their game against Wilmington on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022. Washington would go on to defeat Wilmington by a score of 61-39 to improve to 7-1 on the season. Pictured on defense for Wilmington is Alec Lazic (44).
Photo by Maggi Wall
Saturday, Dec. 10, marked the third time in five days that the Washington Blue Lion varsity boys basketball team would hit the road for an away contest. Washington would travel to take on the Wilmington Hurricane in a non-conference competition. Wilmington came into the game with just one loss on the season.
The Blue Lions jumped out to an 18-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. The opening period saw four players get into the scoring column for Washington, with Tanner Lemaster and John Wall both leading at six points each.
Washington put up another 18 points in the second quarter, outscoring Wilmington 18-12 to give them a 36-23 halftime lead. Wall had 12 points at the half to lead the Blue Lions.
The third quarter saw Washington start out on an 8-0 run to extend the lead to 44-23. Wilmington responded with five unanswered points to end the period. This gave the Blue Lions a 44-28 lead going into the fourth quarter.
In the final quarter, Washington outscored Wilmington 17-11 to finish with a 61-39 victory.
Unofficially for Washington, Wall led the Blue Lions with 21 points, five rebounds, and three steals. He was followed by Lemaster with 14 points and six rebounds. Isaiah Haithcock scored 10 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Brayden May scored seven points and secured four rebounds, Michael Bearden scored four points and recorded six steals, Gabe Tayese scored three points, and Raleigh Haithcock scored two.
The Blue Lions were 11-11 from the free-throw line as a team and committed 15 turnovers.
Statistically for Wilmington, Shane Griffith led the Hurricane with 23 points. He was followed by Mikey Brown with seven points, Bryson Platt with six, Alec Lazic with two, and Jose Morales with one point.
The Hurricane were 3-6 (50%) from the free-throw line as a team and committed 14 turnovers.
Washington (7-1/3-0) plays again on Tuesday, Dec. 13 on the road against Hillsboro with a 7:30 p.m. varsity tip.
Wilmington (4-2) plays again on Friday, Dec. 16 on the road against Western Brown.
In the junior varsity contest, Washington lost 51-23.
Statistically for Washington, Gage Merritt led the Blue Lions with eight points, followed by Jacob Lindsey and Javin Baker with four, Bryson Heath, Jakob Hoosier, and Matthew Colflesh with two, and Logan Clevenger with one.
In the freshman contest, Washington won 57-19.
Statistically for Washington, Javin Baker led the Blue Lions with 13 points, followed by Jeston Everhart with ten, Miguel Utrera with eight, Bryson Heath and Cooper Robertson with seven, Mason Conger and Matthew Colflesh with four, and Olinga Atanga and Avery Wightman with two.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
WCH 18 18 8 17 — 61
WIL 11 12 5 11 — 39
WASHINGTON — John Wall 8 (3)-2-21; Michael Bearden 1-2-4 Brayden May 1 (1)-2-7; Raleigh Haithcock 1-0-2; Gabe Tayese 1-1-3; Tanner Lemaster 5-4-14; Isaiah Haithcock 5-0-10. TOTALS — 19 (4)-11-61. Free throw shooting: 11 of 11. Field goal percentage: 19 of 37 for 51 percent. Three-point field goal percentage: 4 of 15 for 27 percent. Three-point field goals: Wall 3, May. Turnovers: 15
WILMINGTON — Julius Jackson 0-0-0; Mikey Brown 2-1-7; Chase Fickert 0-0-0; Zane Smith 0-0-0; Jose Morales 0-1-1; Logan Camp 0-0-0; Bryson Platt 2 (2)-0-6; Shane Griffith 9 (4)-1-23; Jon Custis 0-0-0; Alec Lazic 1-0-2. TOTALS — 15 (6)-3-39. Free throw shooting: 3 of 6 for 50 percent. Three-point field goals: Griffith 4, Platt 2. Turnovers: 14
