Boys Basketball -- Rogers Uses Muscle To Lead Decatur

PUYALLUP - Victor Rogers considered it child's play. But then, he's one big kid.

Rogers, a 6-foot-7, 300-pound senior, muscled his way inside for a season-high 19 points and added 10 rebounds to lead Decatur High School to a 69-60 victory over Wilson of Tacoma in a loser-out, first-round game of the West Central AAA District boys basketball tournament at Rogers. The Gators (17-5) play Port Angeles tomorrow at 12:15 p.m. at the University of Puget Sound.

Rogers, an offensive lineman who has signed a letter of intent to play football for Colorado, made all seven of his shots from the field and hit five of eight free-throw attempts.

"My teammates made it easy on me," he said. "They got me the ball in scoring position, and all I had to do was take it up."

Aaron Bellessa, named the South Puget Sound League North Division player of the year earlier this week, did most of the feeding, collecting 10 assists to go along with his eight points - including a behind-the-back pass to Marcus Mosby during a decisive, 17-4 run in the second quarter.

Junior forward Ed Rankin got the Gators going with a trio of three-pointers in the opening quarter as they streaked to a 17-6 lead. They were up 17-8 at the break. Rankin, who wound up in early foul trouble, finished with 15 points.

"We wanted to play this game like it was our last one," Rankin said. "Everyone came out and played hard."

Cordell Billups and Josh Tiggs did their best to keep it from being Wilson's final game, combining for 41 points, but the Rams (15-6) fell short. Billups, a smooth-shooting senior, scored 15 of his 24 points in the second half and Tiggs, a junior, had 10 of his 17.

Other games

Bethel 54, North Thurston 45 - After playing the first half to a 27-27 draw, the Braves (15-7) took control in the third quarter, outscoring North Thurston 14-4. Will Wilson and Chris Belser scored 14 points each and Jay Sherrell added 11. Keanta Lathrop did his best to keep North Thurston (15-6) alive, collecting a game-high 21 points.

Federal Way 35, Bremerton 28 - The Eagles (16-5) were trying to forget a nightmarish shooting performance and look ahead to 10th-ranked Lincoln (17-3).

"It was horrible," Federal Way senior Micah Axton said. "That was the worst game we have played this year."

Federal Way trailed 13-10 at halftime, making only four field goals in the first half.

And while Axton expected a big surge in the second half, the Eagles just couldn't get going.

"We just never broke out of our shooting slump," Axton said.

The 6-foot-7 guard left his jump shot in the deep freeze, hitting only one of 10 attempts. Axton finished with four points - 11 below his season average.

Junior Rahmahn Davis was Federal Way's savior, hitting three three-pointers. His final three-pointer broke a 26-26 tie and gave the Eagles the lead for good midway through the fourth quarter.

Davis, who led all scorers with 14, sealed the win with pair of free-throws on the ensuing possession.

Rogers 60, Clover Park 49 - The Rams (17-5) trailed by eight points at halftime, but outscored Clover Park 20-3 in the third quarter to win the loser-out game at Auburn. Rogers scored 14 unanswered points to close out the third quarter as senior Lance Bauslaugh scored seven of his 14 points in the period.

Seattle Times correspondent Danny O'Neil contributed to this report.