Carson Francis, Contributor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE — The Washington Blue Lions are on a mission this season, and they have yet to be stopped.
CREDIT: Marissa Spradlin/SOSA
After winning their first-ever Frontier Athletic Conference title earlier this season, the Blue Lions (20-4) added a sectional title to their list of accomplishments on Saturday.
Led by a masterful 29-point, 20-rebound performance from FAC Player of the Year Tanner Lemaster, WCH grinded out a 83-73 victory over Warren.
“Everyone came out tonight with one goal. We all just wanted to win,” Lemaster said. “We didn’t care who scored, who got the rebound, or who got the steal. As long as we had more points than they did, that’s all that mattered to us.”
The game was a battle from start to finish, and the Blue Lions needed to seize every opportunity that came before them.
Warren jumped out to an early 3-0 start before Lemaster and Brayden May knocked down 3-pointers to put Washington up 6-3. The Warriors wouldn’t hesitate to answer, however, as Julian Stadelman scored 11 points, including a last-second triple, to give the Warriors a 23-17 advantage after eight minutes of play.
That’s when Lemaster began to take over.
“Tanner carried us in the first half with his rebounds and some huge 3’s,” Washington coach Shannon Bartruff said. “He was making plays all night and he really helped us tonight.”
After already scoring 12 points in the first quarter, Lemaster went back to work, leading his team on a 12-2 run to start the second and take a 29-25 lead.
Knocking down a pair of deep triples and another old-fashioned three-point play, Lemaster brought his point total to 21 at the end of the first half. Yet, despite his play, the Blue Lions still found themselves facing a 39-37 deficit at the break.
“I told our guys coming in that it was going to be a four-quarter battle,” Bartruff said. “I told them there would be highs and there would be lows, and there were. I’m just proud of the way our guys fought through them.”
The third quarter was nearly identical to the first two as the two teams went back and forth, with all five Washington starters finding the bottom of the net. However, Warren’s Trent Taylor grabbed an offensive board and went back up strong for two points as the buzzer sounded, and the Warriors still found themselves with a slight 59-57 advantage.
But when the Blue Lions needed him the most, Lemaster did his job, and set up his teammates to do the rest.
“When you just want to win and play for the guy beside you, seeing your teammate score or make a big play hypes you up,” Lemaster said. “You get excited for your teammates and it brings out the energy in everyone.”
Lemaster only scored three points in the final eight minutes of the game, but it was his eight rebounds in the fourth that set up Washington for late offensive success — and allowed Garrett Rickman to do his part.
With the game still close in the fourth, Rickman knocked down back-to-back jumpers and later connected on a late 3-point try to put the game on ice.
“We talked about energy, and we started out slow. But Tanner stepped up and we built off of that,” Rickman, who finished the game with 17 points, said. “Then, when he needed us the most, we stepped up for him.”
“Every time we got in the huddle, we said that we weren’t done,” Lemaster added. “We just wanted to find a way to win. We were just playing for the guys beside us tonight and that’s the reason we came out on top”.
After Lemaster and Rickman’s final totals, Isaiah Haithcock contributed with 15 points.
“The biggest thing is when we play hard, compete, and share the ball, this is the kind of team we can be,” Bartruff said. “I thought Warren played an unbelievable game, but I’m really proud of our guys for sticking together for four quarters. They’ve earned the right to cut down the nets in their own gym.”
Washington advances to district tournament action at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Southeastern High School. The Blue Lions will meet with New Lexington, who defeated Ironton to advance.
A win would mark the program’s first district final appearance since 2002.
“New Lexington is a tough team,” Bartruff said. “I’ll probably start watching film tonight and definitely all day tomorrow. We’ll get back in the gym on Monday and start getting ready for them.”
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