Washington advances with win over East Rankin

Southern Sports & Travel

The Washington Generals improved to 16-11 with a hard fought 50-45 win over East Rankin last night in the Class AAA Division II tournament being held at Hillcrest Christian. Blake Rounsavall led the Generals with a game high 20 points in leading Washington over East Rankin in a crucial “go home” game.

It was a back and forth opening quarter that included five lead changes.

East Rankin would grab a four point lead at 13-9 on a Hayes Roden 3-pointer from the top of the key with 49 seconds left in the first quarter but Washington’s ability to answer was a sign of things to come as Blake Rounsavall drained a 3-pointer to close out the quarter trailing the Patriots 13-12.

(Above) Colton Thomas of Washington releases a floater in the paint for 2 of his 11 points

The lead would swap hands three times during the first three minutes of the second quarter.

Andrew Steinle’s 8 foot jumper in the paint gave the Generals a 14-13 lead less than two minutes into the quarter but East Rankin would quickly regain the lead on two Peyton Cross free throws at the 5:28 mark.

The Patriot’s would hold that lead for less than fifteen seconds as Rounsavall canned a 3-pointer from the wing to give Washington a 17-15 edge.

East Rankin would miss out on opportunities to grab the lead back during the last two minutes of the half as the Patriots would convert on just 3/7 at the charity stripe but despite the free throw struggles they hit the half only down 21-20.

Washington opened the third quarter with a 6-2 run to extend their lead to 27-22 at the 5:31 mark as Colton Thomas converted on a transition bucket and an offensive rebound and put back to fuel the run but East Rankin charged back.

The Patriots pulled to within one point at 27-26 on a Hayes Roden steal and lay-in and at the 2:38 mark East Rankin regained the lead at 30-29 when Jacob Weldon sank an 18 foot jumper.

(Above) Andrew Steinle (#12) of Washington with a turn-around jumper in the first half 

The East Rankin lead was brief.

Colton Thomas converted in the paint and Chase Palasini hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Generals a 34-30 cushion with 1:49 remaining in the quarter.

East Rankin would close the gap back to one point at 34-33 to end the third quarter as John Mark Tuttle scored in the paint and Trevor Jordan hit on one of two free throws.

Washington would see their lead slip away as the Patriot’s Phillip Parker sank a baseline floater to start the final eight minutes of play but that would be East Rankin’s final lead of the night.

JC Clements hit on one of two free throws and Blake Rounsavall hit a 16 foot jumper to give Washington a 37-35 advantage.

After a Trevor Jordan basket tied the game once more at 37-37 with 4:23 remaining in regulation Washington took control of the game.

With Washington holding on to a slim 40-39 lead at the 2:48 mark the Generals would mount an 8-2 run to take their biggest lead of the night at 48-41 with 45 seconds left in the contest and seal East Rankin’s fate.

With the 50-45 win Washington (16-11) advances and will take on fifth ranked Hillcrest on Friday.

Blake Rounsavall led the Generals with 20 points, Colton Thomas added 11, Chase Palasini 10, Andrew Steinle 4, JC Clements 3 and Zach Harris 2.

East Rankin (15-18) was paced by Trevor Jordan’s 17 points, Hayes Roden had 9, Jacob Weldon 8, John Mark Tuttle 6, Peyton Cross and Phillip Parker 2 each and Chance Moore 1.
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Post Game with Washington Head Coach David Rounsavall