Federal Way claims second straight SPSL championship with 59-52 win over Curtis

One title down, two to go for the Federal Way High School boys basketball team. The top-ranked Eagles (20-1) snared the South Puget Sound League championship Thursday night with a workmanlike 59-52 win over the No. 3 Curtis Vikings inside the ShoWare Center in Kent. The Vikings (19-2) won the SPSL South Division championship and the Eagles finished unbeaten in the North.

By Casey Olson • February 11, 2010 11:56 pm
Federal Way High School senior Robert Christopher goes up for a shot in front of Curtis defender Devonte Lacy during the Eagles' 59-52 win over Curtis in the SPSL championship game Thursday at Kent's ShoWare Center.
Federal Way High School senior Robert Christopher goes up for a shot in front of Curtis defender Devonte Lacy during the Eagles' 59-52 win over Curtis in the SPSL championship game Thursday at Kent's ShoWare Center.

One title down, two to go for the Federal Way High School boys basketball team.

The top-ranked Eagles (20-1) snared the South Puget Sound League championship Thursday night with a workmanlike 59-52 win over the No. 3 Curtis Vikings inside the ShoWare Center in Kent. The Vikings (19-2) won the SPSL South Division championship and the Eagles finished unbeaten in the North.

The win earns the defending state champions the SPSL’s top seed into next week’s West Central District Tournament. The Eagles will host the 10th-place team (Auburn or Bethel) from the SPSL on Wednesday night in the opening round of the 16-team tournament. The top-six qualify for state.

Thursday’s game against Curtis wasn’t one of Federal Way’s prettiest of the season. But the Eagles, who entered the game as the 22nd-ranked team in the nation, did just enough to get the win.

Federal Way used a 13-0 run that started midway through the first quarter to separate from the Vikings. The run by the Eagles erased an early 8-2 Curtis lead and put Federal Way up for good.

But the Vikings never went away, despite the Eagles pulling out to a 56-42 lead with 2:12 left in the game, and being without the services of two starters.

Federal Way led just 25-21 at halftime, thanks to nine points from SPSL North Most Valuable Player Cole Dickerson. The San Francisco-bound senior finished with 20 points and six rebounds to lead the Eagles.

Leading by just three points, Federal Way used a 17-5 run starting midway through the third quarter to take a 15-point lead, 50-35, with 4:39 left in the game.

Dominique Williams led the Vikings with 21 points, while Davonte Lacy added 14.

Federal Way got 12 points from junior Tyrell Lewis and nine from senior Robert Christopher.

Kentwood 62, Decatur 42 (SPSL Tournament)

The Gators (14-7) never got anything going on the offensive end of the court and couldn’t contain Kentwood’s 6-foot-10 Josh Smith on the defensive end. The combination resulted in an easy victory for the Conquerors (12-9) Thursday night at the SPSL 4A Boys Basketball Tournament at the ShoWare Center.

The game matched the two second-place teams from the SPSL North and South divisions.

Decatur, who beat Beamer and Puyallup Tuesday night in a tiebreaker to snare the South’s second seed, made only 13 field goals during the game, including just four in the first half. Smith, who was named to the McDonald’s All-American Team earlier in the day, finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds. The UCLA-bound center had 17 of those points in the first half when the Conks built a 20-point lead.

Decatur got 13 points from Jordan McCloud and 10 from Terrell Williams. The Gators’ leading scorer, Jerron Smith, finished with nine points on 1 of 14 shooting from the field.

Decatur will play the winner of a game between Kentridge and Puyallup at 4 p.m. Saturday at the ShoWare Center for the SPSL’s fourth and fifth seeds to the district tournament.