The first time Decatur played Lakes this season, Gators guard Dom Hunter was in foul trouble all game and had little impact. A big game from Markus Rawls helped Decatur pull off a one-point win that day.
In the rematch Tuesday at Lakes High School, Hunter scored 32 points to lead Decatur to an 82-75 victory and a season-sweep of the Lancers.
The win was the 12th in a row for Decatur and clinched the South Puget Sound League’s 3A title.
“This game was redemption for me,” said Hunter, a senior who entered the game averaging 19.9 points a game.
Hunter was deadly from everywhere: the free-throw line, on midrange jumpers, and from beyond the 3-point line.
He scored six consecutive points to cap a 10-0 run, giving the Gators a 59-50 lead late in the third quarter.
During that run, Hunter made a steal and streaked for a lay-up, nailed a turnaround 17-footer near the top of the key, and hit a step-back fadeaway in the lane.
“I knew I couldn’t miss, and I knew I could take the guy guarding me off the first step, and my dribble pull-up is hard to guard,” Hunter said.
Hunter still had big-time help from Rawls. The senior scored 21 points, including a bucket after his own steal to seemingly seal the game at 74-66 with 2 minutes, 55 seconds remaining.
“We learned a lot in December and picked up our game and raised it to a pretty intense level,” said Decatur coach Kevin Olson. “It’s not easy to come down here and win.”
Lakes didn’t go down easily. After falling behind by nine points in the third quarter, the Lancers battled back to cut their deficit to 67-66 with just under four minutes left.
Andrew Holloway scored 23 points to lead Lakes. Zach Banner chipped in with 12 points – the senior bound for USC on a football scholarship also had 17 rebounds and five assists.
The Lancers shot 25 3-pointers making nine. Senior guard Dequam Walls had the most success from long range, going 4-for-5 on his way to 15 points.
Lakes (12-6, 7-2) will finish in second place in the league. The Lancers have one regular-season game left, Friday night at Peninsula.
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