By CASEY OLSON, The Mirror
In a matchup of coach and former player, Jerome Collins got the best of David Stone. Collins’ Federal Way Eagles moved to 6-1 on the season and 3-1 in the South Puget Sound League North Division with a 65-48 win over Thomas Jefferson on Thursday.
Stone, the first-year Raiders coach, played for Collins at Federal Way before graduating in 1994 and is trying to take Jefferson back to the postseason for the first time since 1985. The postseason is where Collins and his Eagles have lived during the coach’s 25-year tenure at the helm of the Federal Way program.
Thursday night, the Eagles jumped all over the Raiders in the first half. Federal Way led 24-11 after the first quarter and extended the lead to 36-18 at halftime.
The Eagles were led by the 24 points of senior wing Aaron Broussard. Federal Way had 10 players score at least two points. Junior Jeff Forbes chipped in 10 points and sophomore Cole Dickerson had eight.
Jefferson (4-4, 1-3) was led by the 13 points of senior Bryant Cameron. David Survine had 10 and Michael Hunter chipped in seven points.
The third-ranked Decatur Gators just keep rolling. Senior guard Marcus Tibbs had 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting and five rebounds to help Decatur to a 62-50 win over Tahoma in a SPSL North Division game Friday at Decatur.
But it wasn’t as easy as the final score. Tahoma (4-3, 2-2) cut the Gators’ lead to just three points in the fourth quarter, but Decatur (7-0, 4-0) answered with a 7-0 run and cruised to the victory.
Darious Walker, a 6-5 senior, had 13 points and 11 rebounds and junior point guard Michael Hale scored 12 points to go along with six assists for Decatur.
The Bears were led by senior guard Patrick Clark, who made 7-of-10 3-point attempts and finished with 23 points.
The Gators will host the Harbour Homes Holiday Classic on Dec. 28 and 29 with Foss, Auburn and Puyallup.
In an SPSL South Division matchup, senior guard Brandon MaGee had a game-high 22 points to lead Bethel (5-2, 4-0) past the Todd Beamer Titans (2-5, 2-2) Friday night, 59-45. The win was Bethel’s fourth straight win.
The Titans were led by the 13 points of Andrew Winton. Leading scorer Dakin Wanquist had 11 points and Alex Hart chipped in 10 points.
Beamer also lost a non-leaguer Saturday night to Shorecrest, 38-34. Wanquist led the Titans with 15 points.
Sports editor Casey Olson: 925-5565, sports@fedwaymirror.com
