In 33 years of coaching boys basketball, Federal Way Eagles coach Jerome Collins has become accustomed to eliminating mistakes.

It was ultimately a monumental mistake — too many players on the court, however, that cost Federal Way in its 61-57 loss to Richland in the quarterfinal round of the 4A state tournament at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday.

Federal Way takes on Kennedy Catholic at 9 a.m. Friday in the consolation bracket.

The Eagles were trailing 57-55 with 1 minute, 28 seconds left in the game, when Federal Way forced a turnover and senior forward Etan Collins finished off the fastbreak with a slam dunk to tie the game at 57. Two drives later it was Richland’s Cody Sanderson putting the Bombers out in front, 59-57, with 5.7 seconds left after he whizzed through the Eagle defenders for an easy layup.

Collins called timeout. When he finished, six players walked out onto the floor, and the Richland sideline spotted the error immediately and received a free throw. The Bombers sent sophomore shooting guard Cole Northrop to the line, and the underclassmen knocked down both free throws to end the game and the Eagles’ pursuit of a third consecutive state title.

After the game, Collins said the team drew up two different plays, but the noise inside the Tacoma Dome made it difficult for the coaching staff to communicate with the players who was actually supposed to take the floor.

“It was a combination of things,” Collins said. “I’m writing it off as the environment, the crowd noise. It was a communication breakdown.”

The mental slip from the Eagles wasn’t their only problem, their troubles started with Richland (21-5) big man, 7-foot-3-inch center Riley Sorn. He proved to be too much for Federal Way (22-3) big-man duo of Malcolm Cola and Etan Collins.

Within the first five minutes of the game, Sorn had two blocks and a dunk against the Eagle rim protectors. Sorn single-handedly gave the Bombers a 5-0 lead, but behind seniors Rashon Slaughter and Cola, Federal Way held onto a 17-15 lead after one quarter.

It was Northrop who had the hot hand for the Bombers all game. The two-guard stared the Eagles’ press, zone and man defensive combinations in the face and continued to shoot.

“The big guy caused us all sorts of problems,” Collins said. “He altered shots, he blocked shots. And their ability to just throw the ball over the top to get through our traps.”

Midway through the second quarter, Northrop knocked down an open 3-pointer from the right elbow, which put Richland up 27-23. Down 32-29 with a second remaining in the half, Federal Way senior guard Palofino Jatta raced down the floor to sink the game-tying 3-pointer from the left elbow.

The big man Sorn gave the Bombers eight points, four rebounds and four blocks through the first 16 minutes, while Slaughter led the Eagles with nine points.

Sorn finished with eight blocks in the win.

Richland went exclusively to the 3-ball in the second half, and Bombers Tyler Kurtz and Garrett Streufert gave Richland a 50-45 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Behind point guard Marcus Stephens and Cola, however, Federal Way slowly chipped away at the deficit over the course of the final quarter before catching Richland at 57.

“They never gave up, and we always play to the horn,” Collins said. “You always have an opportunity to change an outcome. Our guys fought, I’m proud, they’ve always done that. Down the stretch, they made plays and we didn’t.”

Federal Way struggled from the free throw line. Collins was quick to mention it after the game. The Eagles went 10-for-18 from the line in the loss.

They had a good chance to finally surge ahead of the Bombers, and Jaden McDaniel, who struggled from three this year, had the wide open look to do it.

Clank. No good.

But the dagger came thanks to the mental mistake.

“We had opportunities,” Collins said. “But we missed layups, free throws, and we just didn’t cash in on the opportunities, but those things happen.”

The Federal Way Eagles now have the next nine months to replay the mistake that cost them a potential third consecutive state championship in the quarterfinal round this year.

They also have nine months to drown out the noise of the mistake that cost them.

“It’s important to remember the tremendous accomplishments they had this year,” Collins said. “We broke a nationl win streak record. We didn’t play like that that team today, but we’ll take the result and be back to work.”