A pair of division leads will be on the line this week on the South Puget Sound League basketball court.
On the boys’ side, the defending Class 3A champion Lakes Lancers will travel to the Gator Dome to battle Decatur in a matchup of the two lone unbeaten teams in the SPSL 3A division. Both the Lancers and Gators are 3-0 in league play entering the 7 p.m. Friday (Jan. 13) game at Decatur.
On the girls’ side, the Federal Way Eagles will take on the Emerald Ridge Jaguars at 7 p.m. Tuesday (Jan. 17) at Federal Way High School. The two teams sit atop the SPSL South Division with identical 8-1 league records.
The Lakes Lancers, unexpectedly, have struggled a little bit during the early part of the season. Lakes has lost four games and had to overcome a first-half deficit Tuesday to beat Bonney Lake on the road, 57-54.
But Lakes’ 6-4 overall record is a bit deceiving. Three of their four losses have come to national competition. The Lancers lost three of four games during a holiday tournament in Nevada and were beaten up by third-ranked Lincoln on Dec. 22.
“Lakes is very athletic and quick,” Olson said. “We’ll really have to contain the basketball and get out to their shooters.”
The Gators (9-4) have played a challenging preseason schedule and have also lost four games. But Decatur has won six-straight games, including five by double digits, and seem to be rolling.
“The tough early-season schedule has really forced us to raise our level of play,” Olson said. “I think it’s paying off now, although (the Lakes game) will be the real test to see where we are at.”
The Lancers are playing this season without Nate Guy, the SPSL 3A MVP from a season ago. The versatile 6-foot 6-inch wing is in the middle of an eligibility dispute with the WIAA as a fifth-year senior. The team is waiting for a final ruling on Guy’s eligibility.
It also looks like Lakes might be playing without another preseason all-state selection. The Lancers’ 6-foot-9, 320-pound Zach Banner has a football recruiting visit set for this weekend to the University of Southern California, but there is word that the visit might be pushed back. Banner missed last weekend’s SPSL 3A game against Auburn Mountainview because he was playing in the Under Armour All-America Game in New Orleans.
But Olson is game-planning that Banner, who is averaging 15.2 points a game, will be on the court. Andrew Holloway is leading the team in scoring at 16.2 a game.
“We’ll have to battle him by committee,” Olson said of Banner. “And try to keep him off the boards as much as possible and likely double him if he does get it on the block.”
The Gators will continue to count on Dom Hunter, Markus Rawls and Abraham Ferrell-Logan. The three guards are all averaging in double figures, led by the 20.2 points a game by Hunter. Rawls is scoring 14.9 and Ferrell-Logan is tallying 11.2 a contest.
If Tuesday night’s SPSL South girls basketball showdown between Federal Way and Emerald Ridge is anything like their first meeting of the season, then fans are in for something special.
The Jaguars handed the Eagles their first SPSL loss in close to two seasons on Dec. 8 in overtime, 89-82. Federal Way rolled through last season with a perfect 16-0 record in the SPSL South.
This time around, the Eagles will have to do a better job defending Emerald Ridge’s talented point guard, Taylor Buie. The senior finished the first contest with 47 points, including all 12 of the Jaguars’ points in overtime.
Buie also hit an improbable 3-pointer to tie the game at the end of regulation that bounced off the shot clock before dropping at the buzzer. She is leading the SPSL in scoring at 25.5 points a game.
But the Eagles also feature a high-powered point guard in senior Darah Huertas-Vining. But Huertas-Vining, who leads the team at 17.9 points a game, hasn’t played in the Eagles’ last two games, wins over Beamer and Puyallup.
During the absence, Federal Way has been lead by seniors Raven Benton and Dyesha Belhumeur. The pair have combined for 85 points in the last two games, or nearly 70 percent of the team’s total output. Benton is averaging 14.1 points and Belhumeur is chipping in 12.5.
