Decatur head coach Kevin Olson wanted to let his team know right out of the gates what it takes to compete with the best boys basketball teams in the state.

The Gators found out Tuesday night in their season opener in Mill Creek that they still have a little ways to go. The fourth-ranked Jackson Wolves snuck by Decatur, 74-63, on their home court behind the 30 points of Oregon-bound guard Brett Kingma.

“After the game, I told the team that in the big picture, the only thing we lost out on is the dream of the perfect season,” Olson said. “And if that is what our goal was, I wouldn’t have scheduled an opening game at 4A No. 4 Jackson.”

The game was a rematch of last year’s Class 4A state quarterfinal in the Tacoma Dome, which Jackson won on an unbelievable 4-point play from Kingma. With the game tied at 54-54, Kingma sunk a 3-pointer with just 1.8 seconds remaining in the game and was fouled on the play.

The game also marked Decatur’s first foray as a Class 3A school. The Gators were ranked sixth in The Seattle Times’ preseason poll.

“I told them I scheduled some tough games like Gonzaga does and like the UW did this year, so we would know how good the top teams are and where we fit in against them,” Olson said. “And so that we know what it takes to compete with and defeat the top teams in the state.”

The game was a back-and-forth battle until late in the third quarter when Jackson went on a 7-0 run to put the game away. The two teams were tied at 31-31 at halftime.

The Gators, led by Jerron Smith and Austen Wilson, took a one-point lead late in the third quarter and also sent Kingma to the bench with four fouls. But the Timberwolves outscored Decatur, 17-9, during the final eight minutes.

Smith, who should become Decatur’s all-time leading scorer later this season, finished with a team-high 27 points. But it was Wilson who was the difference maker, especially in the third quarter. The 6-foot-6 senior scored 14 of his 19 points during the period. Junior guard Dom Hunter finished with 13.

“Jerron’s going to get his,” Olson said. “But Austen was all over the offensive glass for put backs and Dom hit a couple nice perimeter shots, as well.”

The Gators were playing without starter Markus Rawls and likely sixth-man Abe Ferrell-Logan. Both were out because of academic issues, according to Olson.

“We played OK for the first game of the year,” Olson said. “We competed hard and battled in a very physical game. We answered every run they made, except for the one ending the game.”

In other action:

Jefferson 83, Beamer 63 — In a battle between a pair of young and inexperienced teams, the Raiders came out on top at Beamer Wednesday night.

Jefferson (1-0) shot 58 percent from the field and had an eye-popping 27 assists on 34 baskets, which is most likely a TJ school record, according to head coach Kyle Templeton. Senior guard Chase Braxmeyer led the way offensively with 18 points on 4-of-7 shooting from behind the 3-point line.

“I thought for the first game for the vast majority of our kids we played pretty well,” he said. “Our intensity level was high and I thought we played hard the whole night.”

The Raiders raced out to a 19-13 lead after the first quarter and extended the lead to 37-25 at halftime. Alex Merced finished with 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting and sophomore Daryon James chipped in 11 points and eight assists. Senior Deontae Davis filled up the stat book with 10 points, five rebounds, five assists, four blocks and five steals.

Beamer, who had only six varsity players eligible for the game, got 18 points from senior Mac Gridley, 14 from Anthony Moore and 13 from freshman Jarius McDade. The Titans shot a total of 34 free throws on the night.

“We were able to push the ball in transition and get a lot of easy buckets,” said Templeton. “We also did a great job of sharing the ball. Being as young and inexperienced as we are, turnovers are going to happen. That being said, we had way too many of them. We need to be strong with the ball and make good decisions if we want to compete with the best teams in our league.”