A little bit of experience can go a long way.
That was the case Friday night at Federal Way High School, where the visiting Curtis Vikings pulled away from the youthful Eagles to earn a 64-50 boys basketball victory.
Curtis, which fell in the 4A state championship game last year, was trailing early. But seniors Cameron Howell and Darius Johnson-Wilson, along with junior Jaurence Chisolm, helped lead the Vikings on a big second-quarter run.
Federal Way led 19-8 after junior D’londo Tucker drove in for a lay-up with seven minutes remaining in the first half.
Curtis (5-1, 5-1 SPSL South) responded with a 16-6 scoring run. The Vikings took their lead when Johnson-Wilson blocked a shot, and Howell grabbed the rebound and went coast-to-coast to put Curtis up, 24-23.
Howell scored 16 points and pulled down five rebounds.
“That was the best Cameron Howell has played,” said Curtis coach Tim Kelly. “He played a little bit last year – he was kind of learning his way, and gaining maturity. He has the potential to be a very good player.”
Howell watched the state championship game from the end of the Tacoma Dome bench in March. He wants to return in a more prominent role.
“We were in the state championship and we lost, and that just left a sour taste in my mouth,” said Howell. “I just really want to get back to the championship and prove ourselves.”
Senior guard Vinnie Gallo had a pair of baskets as Curtis scored eight consecutive points to open the second half, pushing its lead to 38-28.
From there, the older Vikings coasted to victory against a Federal Way team that has just one senior.
“We settled down,” said Kelly. “We kind of played their game in the first quarter. We took a lot of shots that we don’t normally take – we were in a hurry.”
Curtis dominated in the statistical categories that one would expect an older, stronger team to win. The Vikings outrebounded Federal Way, 37-24, they had 11 turnovers compared with 20 for Curtis, and they watched as Federal Way went 11-for-23 on free throws.
“I think they got a little flustered as our lead increased – they came quicker with shots, and we did a good job rebounding,” said Kelly.
Johnson-Wilson scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, giving him a double-double in every game this season.
Federal Way (3-3, 3-1 SPSL South) was led by sophomore Brayon Blake, who scored 19 points and had 11 rebounds.
Tucker added 11 points for the Eagles – all in the first half.
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