BOYS BASKETBALL: Emerald Ridge hands second-ranked Eagles first loss, 68-57

To say the Federal Way basketball team had been dominant in the South Puget South League South Division this season would have been an understatement. The second-ranked Eagles cruised through the first half of the league season with a perfect 8-0 record and a margin of victory of over 30 points a game.

By Casey Olson • January 9, 2013 2:30 pm

To say the Federal Way basketball team had been dominant in the South Puget  South League South Division this season would have been an understatement. The second-ranked Eagles cruised through the first half of the league season with a perfect 8-0 record and a margin of victory of over 30 points a game.

But the dominance came to an end Tuesday night at the hands of the Emerald Ridge Jaguars. Emerald Ridge handed the Eagles their first loss of the season, 68-57, on Federal Way’s home court.

The Jaguars (9-2 overall, 6-2 SPSL South) dominated the second half, outscoring Federal Way, 41-28, to overcome a two-point halftime deficit.

Federal Way (11-1, 8-1 SPSL South) played without starters Brayon Blake, DeeShawn Tucker and D’Londo Tucker, who all sat out because of disciplinary reasons. The trio are three of the Eagles’ four leading scorers on the year, all averaging in double figures.

The loss to Emerald Ridge comes after Federal Way handed the Jaguars a 30-point blowout in Puyallup earlier this season. It was the school’s first-ever win over the Eagles since the school opened its doors in 2000.

Sophomore Malik Montoya led the way Tuesday night for Federal Way with 20 points and junior Adrian Davis chipped in 11.

The Eagles face another rugged SPSL South battle Friday night when they travel to Beamer to take on a very solid Titan team that has just three losses on the season. It will be the teams’ first matchup of the year.

Beamer — The Titans (8-3 overall, 5-3 SPSL South) blew away Rogers Tuesday night, 67-37, at home to pull closer to Federal Way at the top of the SPSL South. Beamer was led by the 19 points of Bogdon Blivenyuk and 18 from Charles Frazier. Juwan Flowers chipped in 13 points.

The Titans took control of the game in the third quarter when they outscored the Rams, 21-5, to turn a 12-point lead into a 28-point advantage.

Decatur — The Gators (7-5 overall, 3-2 SPSL 3A) dominated the Bonney Lake Panthers Tuesday night, 76-50. Decatur took a 40-20 lead at halftime and extended the lead to 29 points after the third quarter.

Kevin Locascio led the way with 22 points and Jason Young finished with 21 for the Gators. Glen Jackson chipped in 15.