For the first time since 2008, Washington High School has won a district boys basketball championship.
Playing in the title game of the Class 5 District 10 Tournament Thursday night at Rolla High School, the top-seeded Blue Jays jumped to a big lead early in the game and held off third-seeded Waynesville in the end for a 39-36 victory.
Washington (19-9) led 15-2 after one quarter and 21-2 with 4:30 left in the second quarter.
Waynesville (14-13) chipped away as the Blue Jays led 24-15 at halftime and 30-27 after three quarters.
The Tigers got to within one point twice during the fourth quarter, but could never pull even.
Luke Schroepfer scored 16 points to lead the Blue Jays. Ronnie Suggs added 10 points.
Washington will play the District 9 champion in a Class 5 sectional contest Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Camdenton High School.
The District 9 semifinals take place Friday, featuring Hickman (22-2) against Camdenton (12-15) and Rock Bridge (17-8) against Jefferson City (9-14) at Hickman High School. The championship game is Saturday at 7 p.m.
In Thursday's Class 5 District 10 girls championship game in Rolla, top-seeded Waynesville defeated third-seeded Washington, 52-36.
The Lady Jays end their season with a 15-12 record.
See the Weekend Missourian for more details from Washington's district championship. A detailed sectional preview story will be in next Wednesday's Missourian.
