By MARK MOSCHETTI, For the Mirror
They got back into the game at the outset of the third quarter. But then, the Federal Way Eagles couldn’t get the ball into the hoop.
After cutting an 11-point halftime deficit to just five, the Eagles went more than three minutes without a point on Tuesday. And by the time Federal Way got back on the board, Kentridge had a double-digit lead that it retained the rest of the night on the way to a 62-48 victory in a South Puget Sound League North Division showdown on the Chargers’ floor.
“We couldn’t buy a basket,” Federal Way coach Jerome Collins said after his squad, coming off an emotional 68-66 victory against Decatur on Jan. 4, dropped to 5-2 and out of a three-way tie for first place in the division. “We shot the ball poorly. Then we got inside, and we couldn’t execute. … It cost us.”
Heading into Friday’s game at district rival Jefferson (after press time), Federal Way and Kentridge were deadlocked for third place in the North, one game behind Decatur and Kentwood (both 6-1).
Andre Barrington had 13 points for the Eagles (8-2 overall), but he was the only Federal Way player to score in double figures. Aaron Broussard, who leads the Eagles with a 17.1 scoring average, was limited to seven. Jeff Forbes, also with a double-digit average of 13.1, tallied eight points.
Two Kentridge scoring surges were the difference in Tuesday’s game.
Tied at 12-12 late in the first quarter, the Chargers scored the next eight points for a 20-12 lead and never trailed again. Kentridge stretched it out to 34-22 late in the second quarter before settling for a 37-26 halftime advantage.
Federal Way rang up the first six points of the third quarter. Cole Dickerson drained a foul-line jumper on an assist from Forbes. Then Dickerson fed Barrington for an easy lay-in, and Ian Trevis buried a pair of free throws. That brought the Eagles within five, 37-32, and Kentridge still hadn’t scored a second-half point with three minutes off the clock.
But the Chargers then scored the next 11 points, with four different players contributing. It was 48-32 when Broussard finally nailed a 21-foot 3-pointer inside the two-minute mark, but the Eagles never did get the deficit back into single digits.
“We got back in there and got it down to five, but our execution was poor,” Collins said. “Their physical play had a lot to do with it.”
Kentridge’s Chris Washington, who had 16 points, said: “We knew Federal Way was good and fast, so we had to use our body size. We could get a good lead if we could use our size. We went into the (third) quarter and we knew they could make a run. Federal Way can make runs all the time.”
Renado Parker of the Chargers led all scorers with 24 points. His dunk early in the fourth quarter – one of five he had in the game – helped him break the all-time school scoring record of 1,246 points, which Anthony Williams had held since the 1989-90 season.
Kentridge also won the battle of the boards – and handily, 36-20.
Federal Way played without starting point guard Isiah Umipig, who twisted an ankle in last week’s win over Decatur. Sophomore George Williams replaced Umipig in the starting lineup, and Collins moved Forbes from shooting guard to point guard.
In other boys basketball action:
At Decatur 58, Jefferson 37: Marcus Tibbs scored 19 points, Michael Hale tallied 16 and Darious Walker chipped in 15 for the Gators (11-2 overall, 6-1 SPSL North), who held the Raiders (5-8, 1-6) to single-digit scoring in the first, second and third quarters Tuesday.
The win left Decatur in a first-place tie with the Kentwood Conquerors, but the Gators hold the tie-breaker because they beat the Conquerors in their only meeting of the season.
At Emerald Ridge 72, Beamer 59: The Titans fell to 2-5 in the SPSL South and 4-9 overall with the loss to Emerald Ridge (3-10, 2-5) Tuesday night. The Jaguars outscored Beamer 41-28 in the second half to earn the win. The Titans were led by the 16 points of point guard Dakin Wanquist and 15 from Andrew Winton.
