The top-ranked Federal Way Eagles just keep winning basketball games.
The Eagles (23-1) secured a spot in the West Central District championship game for the second in a row with a workmanlike 67-47 win over the Wilson Rams in Tuesday night’s semifinal at the ShoWare Center in Kent. The victory was Federal Way’s 40th in their last 41 games. The Eagles won the district title last year before going on to win the Class 4A state championship.
“We played well in spurts,” head coach Jerome Collins said. “These guys have been here before and know what the atmosphere is like.”
The Eagles will take on the Lincoln Abes at 8 p.m. Friday at the ShoWare Center for the district’s top seed into Wednesday’s Class 4A State Boys Basketball Tournament.
The game will be a rematch of a 110-85 Eagle win on Dec. 1, in which Federal Way led 37-9 after the first quarter. Collins doesn’t expect to score 110 points again Friday night.
“They are playing a lot more together now and are more cohesive as a team,” he said. “Back then it was every man for himself. We definitely have our work cut out for us.”
Lincoln, who won the Narrows League championship, upended the Decatur Gators, 57-49, in the other West Central District semifinal Tuesday.
“As the season goes on, you progress as a team,” Federal Way guard Isiah Umipig said. “It should be a pretty good game.”
Umipig proved to the be difference maker against Wilson. The Cal-State Fullerton-bound senior controlled the flow of the game on the offensive and defensive ends of the court and finished with a team-high 13 points, including 10 in the second half.
“Isiah was huge for us,” Collins said. “He always gets limited shots, but does a great job running the team. Isiah getting us into our offensive sets is key for us.”
Junior Tyrell Lewis carried the offensive load for the Eagles during the first quarter. Lewis, who tallied a game-high 19 points during Federal Way’s quarterfinal win over Bellarmine, scored 10 points during the first quarter to lead the Eagles out to a 20-11 advantage. Jerry Duckworth took over in the second quarter, scoring nine points after hitting three, 3-pointers.
Federal Way led 39-21 at halftime despite getting only seven points in the first two quarters from the SPSL’s leading scorer, Cole Dickerson. The 6-foot-6 senior finished with 12 just a game after scoring a season low six points against Bellarmine. Dickerson entered the game averaging 25 points a game.
Lewis also ended up with 12 points and senior Robert Christopher chipped in 10 for the Eagles.
The second half turned into a free-throw shooting contest for Federal Way. The Eagles made only seven field goals during the final two quarters, but finished the half 13 for 20 from the free-throw line.
“In a game like that you still have to work hard to get a lead like that,” Umipig said. “We were just doing things that we practiced. I think we can get better. We gave up too many points.”
Lincoln 57, Decatur 49 (Tuesday)
A late-game dry spell on the offensive end killed the prospect of an all-Federal Way West Central District final Tuesday at the ShoWare Center. After putting together an 11-0 run to start the fourth quarter to take a commanding 47-42 lead over the Narrows League-champion Abes, the Gators went cold and Lincoln got hot.
The Abes (17-7) responded with a 15-0 run, highlighted by numerous Decatur turnovers, to earn a berth in the district title game against Federal Way.
“They just started pressuring us and we started throwing the ball all over the place except in the basket,” Decatur head coach Kevin Olson said. “That was our game to win.”
The Gators (16-9) will take on the Wilson Rams at 5 p.m. at the ShoWare Center Friday. The winner earns the West Central District’s third seed into the state tournament and the loser will be the sixth. This will be Decatur’s fourth trip to state in a row.
During the Gators’ fourth-quarter dry spell Tuesday, they also missed the front ends of a pair of one-and-one free-throw attempts.
“Turnovers and missed free throws will kill you,” Olson said.
The game was back and forth during a majority of the first half. The Abes used a mini 6-0 run midway through the second quarter to take a 20-15 lead, before the Gators and Jerron Smith responded to go up 24-22 with 2:16 left.
But Lincoln tallied the final seven points of the first half to take a 29-24 lead into the locker room.
The Gators started the third quarter on a 9-2 run to take a two-point lead, 33-31, before the Abes battled back to grab a 42-36 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Smith finished with a game-high 21 points, senior Jordan McCloud added 13 and junior guard Terrell Williams chipped in 11. The threesome totaled 45 of the Gators’ 49 points.
Jordan Russell led Lincoln with 18 points and Denzel Dansby added 10.
West Central District Boys Basketball Tournament
All games Friday
at ShoWare Center
Decatur vs. Wilson, 5 p.m. (third-sixth to state)
Lincoln vs. Federal Way, 8 p.m. (first-second)
at Foss High School
Gig Harbor vs. Auburn, 6 p.m. (winner fifth, loser out)
Beamer vs. Kentwood, 8 p.m. (winner fourth, loser out)
