The Decatur Gators have some work to do before starting the Class 3A State Boys Basketball Tournament Friday night, thanks to the Lincoln Abes.

The Abes (21-2) throttled the Gators, 79-53, in the championship game of the Class 3A West Central/Southwest Bi-District Tournament Monday night inside the ShoWare Center in Kent.

Lincoln, who won the district title last year as a 4A school, dominated from the opening tip. The Abes used a 17-2 run during the first quarter and rolled to a 46-22 lead at halftime. Lincoln, who is ranked fourth in the state, led by as many as 30 points during the third quarter.

Jerron Smith, who was recently named the Class 3A State Player of the Year by the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association, finished with 23 points for the Gators (17-7). But only nine of them came in the first half. Smith entered the game averaging 28.3 points a game. Junior Dom Hunter finished with 12 for Decatur.

The Abes got three, 3-pointers by Jordan Russell, who finished with 15 points, to lead four Lincoln players in double figures. Isaac Barsh finished with 15 points, Geno Horsley had 13 and Terrell Lewis finished with 12.

Decatur is hoping to get back on track Friday night when they open up play at the 2011 Hardwood Classic Class 3A State Basketball Tournament. As the second seed from the West Central/Southwest District Tournament, Decatur will only have to win one of two games this weekend to advance to the Tacoma Dome.

The Gators open the Class 3A tournament at 9:15 p.m. at Bellevue Community College Friday, Feb. 25 against the Bellevue Wolverines. Bellevue (21-5) was an upset winner of the Sea-King 3A District Tournament. In consecutive games, the Woverines beat second-ranked Rainier Beach, top-ranked O’Dea and  sixth-ranked Seattle Prep to win the district title.

Bellevue is led by the threesome of Nate Sikma, the 6-foot-5 son of former Sonic great Jack Sikma, Will Locke and Kendrick Van Ackeren. Sikma is averaging 19.7 points a game, Locke, a 6-foot guard, is scoring 18.6 a game and the speedy Van Ackeren is chipping in 11.4 a game.

The loser of the Decatur/Bellevue game will face the winner of a first-round game between Lakes and Mount Vernon at 3 p.m. at Bellevue College on Saturday, Feb. 26. The winner advances to Tacoma and the loser is eliminated.

Lakes, who beat the Gators twice during the South Puget Sound League 3A regular season, finished third at the West Central/Southwest District Tournament. Mount Vernon is the second-seed from the Northwest District.

Lincoln, which won the 4A district title last season, opens the state playoffs against top-ranked O’Dea Friday at Auburn High School.

This is the first year the state basketball tournaments in Washington have seen this new format. The “new” tournament still includes a 16-team field in each classification, but the first round of the tournament will be played at four regional sites.

The regional sites will feed eight teams to the Tacoma Dome for the 2011 Hardwood Classic Tournament, which will be held March 3-5. The “new” tournament is a result of dwindling attendance at the state tournaments, especially for the Thursday and Friday consolation games.

Washington was the last state in the nation to hold a 16-team, modified double-elimination state tournament.