3 takeaways from Federal Way’s 69-65 win over Wilson in T-Town Throwdown championship game
The Federal Way High School boys basketball team beat Wilson in the T-Town Throwdown holiday tournament championship game, 69-65 on Saturday night at Wilson High. Here are a few things we learned from the Eagles’ win.
FEDERAL WAY COMPLETES IMPRESSIVE TOURNAMENT RUN
The Eagles entered as the tournament favorite and didn’t disappoint, racking up wins over Franklin Pierce, Puyallup and Wilson in three consecutive days to take the trophy home. In Saturday’s championship game, Federal Way (10-0) took the lead midway through the first quarter and never trailed after that.
“Each game was a learning experience with different coaching styles that we had to go against,” said Federal Way coach Yattah Reed. “Franklin Pierce, the learning part of that is being able to keep the lead, not get caught up in the score. Dealing with the zone that we’re too accustomed with against Puyallup.
“Then tonight, I thought Wilson was kind of like the makeup of us. They had athlete, quick guards, guys that were long. I knew it was going to be competitive. They compete, they like to get out in transition, they run multiple defenses. Each game was a learning experience.”
The game against Wilson featured a matchup of two fast-paced, up-tempo teams that like to get out in transition.
“I expected Wilson to be fast-paced,” said Federal Way forward Jared Franklin. “That’s what they’re known for. They have quick guards with Emani (Mitchell) and Damani (Green). They’re going fast paced, back and forth. But we know how to keep up with that and hold our own pace.”
SCORING BALANCE MAKES EAGLES TOUGH TO DEFEND
Eight players found themselves on the Federal Way scoresheet, with tournament MVP Peter Erickson leading the way with 20 points, connecting on six 3-pointers in the win. Franklin scored 12, Bradley Graham added nine, Jaylen-Wes Williams had eight, Marcus Cole and Dace Pleasant scored seven apiece, Lamar Johnson added five and Isaiah Afework scored one.
“Everyone on our team can score, from one to the last person on the bench,” Franklin said. “Peter can shoot, score at all three levels, Jake, Bradley, Lamar coming off the bench. We can all score and go at them and always execute.”
That kind of offensive balance will be valuable for the Eagles this season, as teams won’t be able to key on any one or two players defensively. Stopping Federal Way will take a total team-wide defensive effort.
PLENTY TO LIKE FROM WILSON
Well, aside from the free throw shooting. For the second straight night, free throw accuracy proved costly for the Rams. On Friday night, Wilson missed twenty free throws in a win over West Seattle. Saturday night against Federal Way, Wilson shot 47.6 percent from the free throw line.
“We have to make free throws,” Cocke said. “I told the kids today, ‘we have to shoot 85 percent from the line to win the game.’ … It’s hard to beat good teams missing free throws. Those are possessions. We need to get back in the gym. It’s Christmas break, but everybody else is on Christmas break, too. They have to make free throws.”
On the positive side, guard Damani Green had another strong game for the Rams, scoring a team-high 19 points. Freshman Cayden McDaniel added 11 points off the bench, Emani Mitchell scored seven and Jackson Dorsey scored nine, including several two-handed dunks.
Dorsey, a 6-foot-6 junior forward with ‘pogo stick’ bounce, could be in line for a larger role as the season wears on. He recently blew out his knee and returned to full strength just as the season began for Wilson.
“We know what he can go do,” Cocke said. “We see it every day in practice. You have to understand, when you can’t play basketball for eight months, that’s huge for a kid’s development. Right now, he’s fully healed, he’s fine. His timing and different things when he catches the ball and tries to attack, it’s not there yet. We know, as the more and more we get him involved — and I think our guards did a good job of getting him the ball at times tonight — he’s probably one of the best finishers in this area.”
