A hard season got even tougher late last week when now-former Washington boys’ basketball coach Steve Flowers reigned from the position. The Pam Pack sits at 3-12 (0-2 2-A Eastern Plains Conference) with eight games left in the season.

Per athletics director Jon Blank on Wednesday, girls’ coach Ralph Biggs will assume head coaching duties for the boys throughout the remainder of the season. Biggs, the assistant coaches, and the Pam Pack all have their sights set on finishing the season strong.

“They seem ready. They seem eager to try something new,” Biggs said. “I think they’re kind of sad that the situation happened with coach Flowers, but I think they also look at it as something new.”

It’ll be easier said than done. Two of Washington’s three wins have come against smaller, 1-A teams. Its only marquee win is against a 3-A club in Northern Nash, which sits at 13-2 on the season.

Salvaging this season is entirely possible. The Pam Pack found magic in that win over Northern Nash over a month ago. There’s a feeling of optimism throughout the team. Despite the circumstances, it feels like a new beginning.

“We had practice with coach Ralph (Tuesday),” said senior guard Suae Poe. “Instead of him telling us, we actually went through plays and got something out of it. And we’ve got three more coaches, so I feel like we’re going to be all right. As long as we stay together, we’ll be all right.”

Seniors like Poe have done their best to bring everyone together because there’s still a lot to accomplish. Washington has the talent to compete in the EPC, and with eight league games left on the schedule, it can earn a playoff berth with a strong showing in conference.

“We’re just trying to keep the team together, instead of everyone being their own individual person,” Poe said. “Let’s just duke it out these last eight games, try to win the conference, and make it to the playoffs, not let it be like football.”

The football team faced a similar situation. It lost all of its six non-conference games, but started 3-0 in EPC competition. The Pam Pack could have earned a spot in the playoffs had it won the league title, but things fell apart in the final two weeks of the season.

A lot of players on the basketball team played football, too. The seniors are especially motivated, after seeing what happened on the gridiron, to finish strong on the hardwood.

“We’re going to use it to try and prove people wrong,” Poe said.

Things might not be going well for Washington, but the players are confident they can accomplish something in the last few weeks.

“That’s really what it’s all about. We want to show we’re not just the people you can run over,” senior forward Harvey McCullough said. “We believe we’re good. If you ask any of us, we’ll tell you that we’re the best team on the planet. We just have that confidence, even if our record might say otherwise. We each have that extreme confidence, and we go into each game looking forward to a win.”

Washington gets back to business Friday at Beddingfield. It’s the first game since Flowers stepped down, and first after a weeklong layoff. A win there would be huge not just for climbing the standings, but also for the team’s overall confidence.

“That would definitely be a good starting point. That would be huge,” McCullough said. “It would feel like we’re going into another direction.”