Washington boys win, finish third in Kansas 5A basketball state tournament

DeMarco Smith saved one final special performance for Washington’s 67-54 victory over Highland Park in the Kansas Class 5A boys basketball third-place game on Saturday.

Smith finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, four blocks and four steals for Washington, which had its best finish at the state tournament since losing the 2011 championship game.

Washington feasted on a Highland Park team that appeared to be still reeling from their overtime loss on Friday night. The Wildcats led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter.

Washington was 7-7 after 14 games this season, then won nine of its last 11 games.

Highland Park, 17-8, never came closer than seven points in the fourth quarter and was led by 13 points from Malik Keith.

This story was originally published March 12, 2016 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Washington boys win, finish third in Kansas 5A basketball state tournament."