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Washington had nearly a week to fine-tune its game.
The Panthers’ rigorous week of practice paid off in a big way Friday in a Mid-Illini Conference boys basketball contest at East Peoria.
Washington (16-4, 5-2) thumped the Raiders, 77-32, to complete a regular-season sweep and run its January winning steak to eight games.
“I thought we really worked on some things in practice,” WCHS head coach Kevin Brown said. “Guys did a great job of ball reversal.”
Alec Peters had a game-high 24 points for the Panthers at Allison Gymnasium after making all eight of his shots from the field, including five from 3-point range.
“We were really on him to become more than one-dimensional,” said Brown of Peters, whose game continues to expand.
Ben Ryan had 19 points and five rebounds for Washington, which remained No. 5 in the Jan. 25 Associated Press Class 3A state poll . He was 9-of-10 at the free-throw line.
“They move awful well,” EPCHS head coach Ron Kelch said of the visitors. “They’re tough to guard because they’re so versatile.”
Peters and Ryan combined for 30 points in the first half as the Panthers were on top, 37-14.
Troy Adams of Washington produced 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting and a team-best six boards.
The Panthers did a solid job defending Corey Crotz, the Mid-Illini’s leading scorer, who recently torched Pekin for 44 points.
After a quick start, Crotz missed seven straight shots at one point before netting 10 points in the final 3:43 of the third quarter. He finished with 21 points.
It was only an 8-7 Washington edge midway through the opening period before the guests embarked on an 11-0 run.
Ryan started and ended the spree with four consecutive free throws while Peters fired in seven points on jumpers in between in a span of 1 minute, 12 seconds.
An Adams bucket with one second left made it 21-10 through eight minutes.
Peters hit back-to-back treys early in the second quarter before Ryan supplied seven points in the last 3:09.
The Panthers shut out East Peoria, which fell to 0-8 in the conference, over the final 5:30 of the half.
Washington outscored the Raiders 13-1 to start the second half, which triggered a series of substitutions on both sides. Adams, Tucker Harlan, Ryan and Peters all had baskets during the salvo.
Chase Vogel and Tanner Smith joined the scoring parade for the Panthers, and it was 64-25 by the end of the third quarter.
Washington had nearly a week to fine-tune its game.
The Panthers’ rigorous week of practice paid off in a big way Friday in a Mid-Illini Conference boys basketball contest at East Peoria.
Washington (16-4, 5-2) thumped the Raiders, 77-32, to complete a regular-season sweep and run its January winning steak to eight games.
“I thought we really worked on some things in practice,” WCHS head coach Kevin Brown said. “Guys did a great job of ball reversal.”
Alec Peters had a game-high 24 points for the Panthers at Allison Gymnasium after making all eight of his shots from the field, including five from 3-point range.
“We were really on him to become more than one-dimensional,” said Brown of Peters, whose game continues to expand.
Ben Ryan had 19 points and five rebounds for Washington, which remained No. 5 in the Jan. 25 Associated Press Class 3A state poll . He was 9-of-10 at the free-throw line.
“They move awful well,” EPCHS head coach Ron Kelch said of the visitors. “They’re tough to guard because they’re so versatile.”
Peters and Ryan combined for 30 points in the first half as the Panthers were on top, 37-14.
Troy Adams of Washington produced 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting and a team-best six boards.
The Panthers did a solid job defending Corey Crotz, the Mid-Illini’s leading scorer, who recently torched Pekin for 44 points.
After a quick start, Crotz missed seven straight shots at one point before netting 10 points in the final 3:43 of the third quarter. He finished with 21 points.
It was only an 8-7 Washington edge midway through the opening period before the guests embarked on an 11-0 run.
Ryan started and ended the spree with four consecutive free throws while Peters fired in seven points on jumpers in between in a span of 1 minute, 12 seconds.
An Adams bucket with one second left made it 21-10 through eight minutes.
Peters hit back-to-back treys early in the second quarter before Ryan supplied seven points in the last 3:09.
The Panthers shut out East Peoria, which fell to 0-8 in the conference, over the final 5:30 of the half.
Washington outscored the Raiders 13-1 to start the second half, which triggered a series of substitutions on both sides. Adams, Tucker Harlan, Ryan and Peters all had baskets during the salvo.
Chase Vogel and Tanner Smith joined the scoring parade for the Panthers, and it was 64-25 by the end of the third quarter.
Justin Potter found the range with a left-hand shot in the fourth quarter, and Washington teammates Drake Jackson and Travis Wright also scored.
While the Panthers wanted to try to slow Crotz, they focused more on themselves.
“We didn’t make a lot of adjustments to them,” Brown said.
Washington’s regular bench was shortened by injuries. Among those out was starting guard Mason McCoy with a lower leg injury.
McCoy returned Tuesday during the Panthers' 59-46 win over Metamora, which tipped off a three-game week in the conference.
The home game with the Redbirds was Washington’s first since Dec. 10.
Postseason: Online seed meetings occur next week. Pairings should be posted on the Illinois High School Association website by Feb. 10.
Metamora is the only school in the 3A Ottawa Regional — which also includes Illinois Valley Central, LaSalle-Peru and the host Pirates — Washington will play in the regular season.
