By CASEY OLSON, The Mirror
The Federal Way boys basketball had been pretty much unstoppable during the early season.
The Eagles rolled out to a perfect 3-0 record with wins over Mount Tahoma and Fort Vancouver, as well as a victory over fourth-ranked Prairie on their home floor.
But Federal Way couldn’t overcome the height of the Kentwood Conquerors Tuesday night in both teams’ South Puget Sound League North Division opener. Kentwood rallied from a seven-point deficit late in the third quarter to drop the loss on the Eagles, 69-60.
Tuesday’s matchup at Federal Way High School matched two of the better teams in the SPSL and the state.
Both played at the Class 4A State Tournament inside the Tacoma Dome last season and both return a bulk of their lineups. Kentwood actually knocked the Eagles out of last year’s state tournament with a 70-60 victory and used the same blueprint to beat Federal Way again Tuesday.
Seventh-ranked Kentwood rode the imposing inside play of 6-foot-9 sophomore Josh Smith and 6-7 Jeremy Green down the stretch. Smith tallied 10 of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter and Green scored four of his 17 points in the final three minutes. The pair keyed a 31-15 Kentwood run late in the game to overcome a 45-38 Federal Way lead with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
The fifth-ranked Eagles used their quickness and defensive pressure through the first three quarters to build their lead. Federal Way jumped out to an early 10-4 lead midway through the first quarter thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Andre Barrington, who finished with 10 points.
It also didn’t hurt that Smith and Green were saddled with foul trouble. Both sat out extended amounts of time during the second and third quarters. Smith picked up his third foul with 3:24 left in the first half and Green picked up his fourth early in the third.
But the Kentwood bench kept the Conquerors within striking distance during their absences. Guard Devarea Jacobs scored all 10 of his points in the first half.
Federal Way senior wing Aaron Broussard finished with a game-high 25 points and junior guard Jeff Forbes tallied 10 points. The Seattle University-bound Broussard is averaging 21.8 points a game.
In other boys basketball action:
• The fourth-ranked Decatur Gators (3-0) remained unbeaten with an 82-67 win over Kentlake in their SPSL North opener. Decatur got a combined 54 points from Marcus Tibbs (21), Darious Walker (17) and Michael Hale (16) and also got strong contributions from Cam Schilling (9 points) and freshman Jerron Smith (8) to run by the Falcons.
The Gators play a big non-leaguer at 7 p.m. today against sixth-ranked Inglemoor at the Les Schwab Shootout at Bellevue Community College.
• Jefferson improved to 3-1 on the season with a 67-42 blowout of Kent-Meridian Tuesday night. The Raiders were led by the 18 points of Spencer Sydney and 17 from Michael Hunter. Sydney is averaging 20.5 points through the Raiders’ first four games.
• Senior guard Dakin Wanquist poured in 28 points Tuesday to give Beamer (1-2) its first win of the season over Graham-Kapowsin, 65-54. The Titans outscored Graham-Kapowsin 38-25 in the second half. Andrew Winton also chipped in 16 points.
Sports editor Casey Olson: 925-5565, sports@fedwaymirror.com
