TJ boys gain momentum with tournament win

Jefferson 63, Ellensburg 61

The Jefferson boys basketball team earned its second win in a row Friday. The Raiders overcame an eight-point deficit to beat Ellensburg 63-61 at the Kitsap Classic tournament at Olympic High School in Silverdale.

“We were down by eight, and we came back to win it,” Jefferson coach Dave Reynolds said. “That’s a good thing for our kids to learn.”

Senior guard Matt Englund tipped in the game-winning shot in the closing seconds.

“Matt is one of the players we depend on, Reynolds said. “He’s a senior and the league’s second-leading scorer last season. At the same time, he’s averaging over five assists per game, so he’s giving the ball to people who can help us.”

Englund scored 29 points in Friday’s game, including 14 points in the fourth quarter. He also had eight rebounds and four assists. Through six league games, Englund is the South Puget Sound League’s leading scorer this year. He averages 23.7 points per game.

Junior Myron Hennings scored 14 points for the Raiders on Friday. Jefferson improved its record to 2-6. Dele Bamidele had six rebounds. Dominique DeGrate scored seven points and Jared Bronson added six for the Raiders.

Jefferson gets back to league action when it plays Decatur at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Jefferson.

Burlington 85, Decatur 75

The Decatur boys basketball team lost its second Bellevue Community College Holiday Tournament game on Friday with an 85-75 loss to Burlington.

Decatur trailed by as many as 15 points entering the fourth quarter, but cut Burlington’s lead to 4 points with three minutes left in the game. But the Gators couldn’t get over the hump.

“It takes a lot of energy to come back when you’re down like that,” said Decatur coach Kevin Olson. “We’re struggling right now. At times we’re pretty good, but we just can’t sustain it. We have to figure out what it’s going to take to get us to play for 32 minutes.”

Senior guard Christian Scholze led Decatur with 21 points. The Gators are now 2-6 this season.

In Thursday’s game, Decatur lost to Juanita 60-52 in the opening round of the tournament. Decatur’s Brandon Hicks scored 17, Alonzo Akres scored 14 and Steven Patenaude chipped in 11. But it wasn’t enough for the Gators to earn the win.

As a team, Decatur ranks second in the South Puget Sound League in scoring, averaging 62.8 points per game. Enumclaw leads the league with an average of 71.4 points per game. Decatur’s next game is at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Jefferson.

Federal Way 59, Lindbergh 54

Federal Way used clutch free throw shooting to beat Lindbergh 59-54 Friday during the NBI Christmas Ball at Bothell High School.

With 10 seconds left in the game, Federal Way senior wing Jason Carlson calmly hit two free throws to give Federal Way a 58-54 lead it would not relinquish.

Lindbergh hit a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left to pull within two points, but Federal Way killed the clock until Carlson was fouled.

Senior guard Brandon Chavers led Federal Way with 12 points. Carlson and Brad Mahlstedt scored 11 points each. The Eagles improved their record to 6-3 overall.

In Thursday's game, Federal Way and Bellevue exchanged leads 18 times before Bellevue finally pulled away for the win. Bellevue went ahead 56-55 with 2:30 left in the game, and never trailed.

With Bellevue leading 58-55 in the final seconds, Federal Way had a chance to tie the game, but a 3-pointer fell short. Brandon Chavers led the Eagles with 14 points.

Federal Way played Bothell Saturday for third place. Results were not available by press time.

Federal Way’s next game is against Jefferson at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8 at Federal Way.

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