Washington basketball coach Steve Flowers resigned on Friday, according to athletics director Jon Blank. The Pam Pack dropped to 3-12 (0-2 2-A Eastern Plains Conference) after Thursday’s 81-64 loss at Farmville Central.

“It was his decision, and ultimately, right now what we’re trying to do is figure out the best possible coaching scenario to finish out the season for the guys,” Blank said Sunday evening. “That was kind of a sudden jolt to the program on Friday.”

Flowers added, “I’ve enjoyed my time at Washington, I love my players, and I wish them well.”

The team has struggled this season. It earned its only hallmark win — and its first of the season — on Dec. 1 at home. The Pam Pack edged a 3-A club in Northern Nash. Since that, its only other wins came against 1-A teams. It beat Northside at home and sailed past Southside in the Panthers’ Holiday Tournament.

Flowers amassed a 39-94 record at Washington. The Pam Pack competed in tough basketball conferences during his time as bench boss. Farmville Central and North Pitt have always been capable of making postseason runs. The Jaguars are currently reining state champions.

When he took over in 2010, Washington was regularly squaring off with the likes of South Central, West Craven and Conley in the 3-A Coastal Conference.

Washington has eight conference games left. The challenge of bouncing back is now compounded by uncertainty surrounding the coaching situation.

“I think it’s definitely a tough situation for the kids to be in,” Blank said. “I’m hoping we can come up with a situation that can kind of immediately through the end and have as much of a positive impact on the rest of the season as we can get.

“Any time you put kids in a situation like this, ultimately they have two choices. They can take it the wrong way and back down from the challenge. Or they can come together as players and as a team and try and finish this thing strong for themselves. That’s what I hope they do.”

Blank said he’s exploring a few options. There’s a job posting online for an interim coach. Internally, Blank said that there’s also a scenario where assistant coach Lindsey Harris and girls’ basketball coach Ralph Biggs could take over.