The top seed for the district tournament and the South Puget Sound League title were on the line, but the game felt like it belonged in the state tournament as Federal Way edged Curtis 63-61 on Thursday at the ShoWare Center in Kent.
Leading 61-50 with just under 4:30 left to play, the Eagles looked like they were going to cruise to the finish. The Vikings had other ideas as they cut the lead to one point with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes.
Federal Way took a 60-second timeout after John Moore’s field goal which brought the score to 61-60. It paid off as they settled down and Marcus Stephens was able to find some space and knock down a jump shot to give the Eagles a three-point cushion.
After a missed attempt by Curtis’ Aushanti Potts-Woods, another timeout was called. This time, Curtis picked up a steal, but Federal Way’s Ferron Flavors fouled Glenn Jordan to stop the easy basket.
It paid off as Jordan missed the second of his two free throws.
The Vikings immediately got in the face of each Eagles player who touched the ball as they tried to create another turnover.
Federal Way was able to get the ball to D’Jimon Jones just past midcourt. Potts-Woods, Curtis’ leading scorer with 26 points, charged in a little too hard and picked up his fifth foul instead of the ball.
D’Jimon Jones was fouled again after the ensuing inbound to send him to the line for a 1-and-1, but he missed the front end.
With a little under 15 seconds left, Curtis tried to find a quick basket to tie the game. Moore went for a driving layup, but Stephens was able to come away with a steal.
Stephens went to the line with around five seconds left in the game. Like D’Jimon Jones, he missed the front end of the 1-and-1.
Jordan grabbed the rebound for Curtis and race down the court for the final shot of the game. He attempted a layup from the right side of the basket, but just as he let it go, D’Jimon Jones sent it flying out of bounds with a monstrous block as the buzzer sounded.
“I was pleased with the defensive effort,” Federal Way head coach Jerome Collins said. “I was pleased with it in the fourth quarter particularly. We definitely had some big stops at the end.”
I wasn’t pleased with how we handled the ball. We had three possessions where we turned the ball over and, obviously, we did a terrible job sealing the game from the free throw line. If we would have just taken care of the ball, it wouldn’t have been an ending like that.”
Since their 66-59 win over Corona Del Sol of Arizona on Dec. 29, no team has finished within single digits of the Federal Way boys basketball team. For Eagles head coach Jerome Collins who likes to keep his teams hungry for competition, the Vikings provided exactly what he was looking for.
The Vikings started the game taking a 20-6 lead in the first quarter. Federal Way scored the final five points of the first quarter to bring the deficit down to nine points.
It was the beginning of a 19-2 run for the Eagles. They took a brief 21-20 lead before Curtis finally scored again.
“They have a no-die attitude and I really like that,” Collins said. “We haven’t been down very much. In Arizona we got down to Corona Del Sol and we came back in that one. It was a good experience for us. I think our kids will be better as they understand it.”
Federal Way had trouble containing Potts-Woods who scored 18 in the first half. He got into foul trouble early and it, along with Federal Way clamping down its defense, slowed his production in the second half.
The Vikings led 32-30 at the half.
Along with his 26 points, Potts-Woods had seven rebounds and three blocks for Curtis. Moore and Jordan both had nine points, three rebounds and two steals for the Vikings.
Jalen McDaniels led the Eagles with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.
Stephens finished with 12 points, three assists and two steals. Christian Jones finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
The win earned Federal Way the SPSL’s top seed to the West Central District tournament, while Curtis went on to defeat Kentwood 66-63 on Saturday to earn the second seed.
Curtis (20-2) defeated Kentlake (12-10) 83-45 in the first round of districts on Wednesday.
Federal Way (22-0) beat Yelm (9-12) 78-41 in their first round matchup on Wednesday.
The Eagles play Timberline (13-7) tonight at 6 p.m. at Auburn Mountainview High School in a winner-to-state game.
Jefferson falls to Puyallup, loses in first round of districts
The Thomas Jefferson Raiders fell to Puyallup 52-39 in their SPSL tournament match up on Saturday.
The loss earned them the sixth seed into the West Central Distrtict tournament.
It was the second time the Vikings defeated the Raiders this season. Previously, Jefferson lost its season opener to Puyallup 54-30.
Puyallup (18-6) earned the fifth seed with the win. They defeated South Kitsap (8-12), the fourth seed from the Narrows, in the first round on Wednesday.
Jefferson (11-12) hosted Timberline, the third seed from the Narrows, in the first round of districts on Wednesday. The Raiders lost 52-48 and must win three straight loser-out games to make it to the state playoffs now.
They play Yelm tonight at 6 p.m. at Stadium High School.
Todd Beamer wins in SPSL tourney, loses at districts
After a tough loss to Jefferson in their tiebreaker on Feb. 2, Todd Beamer bounced back with a 72-67 win over Spanaway Lake.
Patrick Kennedy led the way for the Titans with a double-double as he scored 15 points and had 11 rebounds.
The win earned the Titans the eighth seed from the SPSL for the district tournament.
Spanaway Lake (13-10) is the 10th seed from the SPSL for district playoffs. They lost to Bellarmine Prep (14-3), the top seeded Narrows team, in the first round of districts on Wednesday.
Beamer (15-8) faced Olympia (18-3), the second seed from the Narrows, for the first round of the tournament on Wednesday. They lost to the Bears 70-50.
The Titans play Emerald Ridge in a loser-out game tonight at 7:45 p.m. at Stadium High School.
