DUBUQUE – With the game on the line, Cedar Rapids Washington made it count at the charity stripe.

The Warriors sank 12-of-14 free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter and came away with a rugged, 46-33 victory over Dubuque Hempstead Tuesday at Moody Gymnasium.

It wasn’t pretty for Washington (9-4, 7-2 MVC). The Warriors needed to win the fourth quarter, 22-7, to separate themselves from a gritty Hempstead squad.

“(Hempstead) had a great game plan,” Washington Coach Brad Metzger said. “They were going to make some other guys make some shots.

“It doesn’t take much. When teams test us, by now, I’m pretty used to the fact that we’re going to break it eventually.”

Hempstead (5-8, 4-5) hedged its bets on a 3-2 zone and keying on Washington guard Josh Oglesby. Consequently, the Warriors shot 44 percent (14-for-32) for the game, and Oglesby, the third-leading scorer in the Metro at 20.8 points per game, was held to 13 on 4-of-11 shooting.

The Warriors, despite their struggles against Hempstead’s zone, hung around and trailed by only a basket going into the fourth quarter.

Washington was able to finally hit some big shots against the zone in the final period. Oglesby’s trey from the corner gave the Warriors a 32-29 lead midway through the fourth, an advantage the visitors would not surrender.

Another 3-pointer from the corner, this time from Cybryan Moa, extended the Warriors’ lead to 37-31 with 3:25 to play.

Washington ended the game on a 12-2 run and escaped Dubuque with a road triumph. Wes Washpun, who finished the game with a team-high 16 points, made 5-of-6 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Oglesby was also a perfect 4-for-4 from the line over the final eight minutes.

“Josh is an excellent free-throw shooter, and Wes has come on real strong as of late,” Metzger said. “Wes has kind of had a rough start, but he’s a better free-throw shooter than that. I think he shoots a higher percentage in the clutch than other times.”

The Warriors also leaned on their pressure defense in the late stages, finishing with eight steals. Washpun, second in the Metro in steals, led the team with four thefts.
Oglesby praised the team’s execution on a night when offense was hard to come by.

“I thought in the second half we came out better offensively and even better defensively,” Oglesby said. “The first half was rough.

“You can’t get down on yourself when you’re not making shots. You just have to play through that, making sure the team stays positive.”

WASHINGTON (46): Alex Carr 1 1-2 4, Wes Washpun 5 6-10 16, Cybryan Moa 2 3-4 8, Josh Oglesby 4 4-4 13, Sean Bredl 0 0-0 0, McCauley Todd 1 0-0 2, David Tann 1 0-0 3, Trent Hoekstra 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 14-24 46.

HEMPSTEAD (33): TJ Johnson 2 0-0 4, Brad Duwe 3 2-2 8, Alex Smith 1 3-4 5, Cody Leach 3 1-2 7, Gage Heffernan 4 1-4 9, Mike Canfield 0 0-2 0, Connor Sindberg 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 7-14 33.

Halftime – Hempstead 21, Washington 17. 3-point goals – Washington 4 (Carr, Moa, Oglesby, Tann). Total fouls – Washington 14, Hempstead 15. Fouled out – None.