Gonzaga Prep shoots lights out in 63-49 win over Federal Way
Federal Way played well in spurts against Gonzaga Prep in the opening round of the Class 3A state high school boys basketball tournament at the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday night, but the Eagles couldn’t consistently get stops on the defensive end or go on a run on offense. Federal Way’s season came to an end with a 63-49 loss to Gonzaga Prep.
“They’ve got good guards, they’ve got length,” said Federal Way junior Isaiah Afework. “We practiced a lot on what we were going to do against them but just had trouble executing.”
Gonzaga Prep was led by Oregon State commit Jayden Stevens, who poured in a game-high 21 points on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting from the field.
“There were some broken down plays on our end in regards of defensive rotation,” said Federal Way coach Yattah Reed. “When you have (Stevens) down there who’s pretty efficient, you can’t afford to do that. We had several 50-50 balls that just went to them and it just wound up being something good. … Us on our end, we couldn’t put the ball in the hole. The guys that normally put it in, it just didn’t fall. And then when your defense isn’t on point, you’re going to get exposed. We’ll learn from it and move on.”
Federal Way was led by junior guard Vaughn Weems, who scored a team-high 21 points. Dace Pleasant added 12 points for the Eagles. Despite the loss, Federal Way played with admirable effort, diving on the floor for loose balls and staying active on defense.
“I don’t ever question my kids’ effort,” Reed said. “They go hard the whole time. But it’s hard when you’re playing in a loser-out game and they’re playing hard and not seeing the results that they normally see. They just have to learn to keep fighting. Time ran out and the 50-50 balls and us not putting the ball in the hole, that stuff adds up.”
Federal Way’s core of Weems, Pleasant and Afework all return next season as seniors, giving the Eagles a good chance of making a deeper run in the state tournament.
“I’m really excited for what we’re going to build,” Afework said. “It sucks how we went out this year, but we’re going to use it and learn from it.”
For Gonzaga Prep, in addition to Stevens’ 21 points, Henry Sandberg scored 15 and Carter Collins had 14 points in the win. The Bullpups were highly efficient offensively, shooting 55.3 percent from the field. Federal Way, meanwhile, shot 37 percent from the field.
“This is a great experience, we’ll take it,” said Reed, who added that he’s grateful for the opportunity for kids to play in the Tacoma Dome again after last year’s tournament was canceled. “I think they understand what it’s all about in regards to the mental preparation, physical preparation and what we have to work on in regards to our weaknesses and sharpen our strengths.”
