Federal Way rebounded from a disappointing 53-45 upset loss to Jackson of Everett in the state Class 4A boys basketball semifinal to capture third place with a 53-44 win over Wilson.

The Eagles missed out on the second-straight state title they were gunning for, but they made the most out of their situation with the consolation win over the Rams from Tacoma.

"In retrospective of it all, it's been a great run," said Federal Way head coach Jerome Collins, whose team finished with a 26-3 overall record including an out-of-state loss to Jefferson of Portland, Ore. "I'm just proud of our kids and our program. It's just a lot of tradition. We thought about the legacy we wanted to leave."

Leading the way for much of the season was 6-foot, 7-inch senior center Cole Dickerson, who is the younger half brother of former University of Arizona and NBA player Michael Dickerson.

"I wanted to finish strong and leave a tradition for the young kids," said Cole after he scored 16 points and hauled down 13 rebounds against Wilson. "I didn't want to lose my senior game.'

Dickerson has already signed up to take his talents to the University of San Francisco.

"I just really liked the coach," said Dickerson of how that came about. "He's an ex-NBA player and he really knows a lot."

Collins continues to work with him in the meantime.

"He still has a ways to go with his foot speed," Collins said. "We're still working on that."

Dunking ability is a strength for Dickerson, and he proved it by using two hands to slam down a shot to open the scoring in the third place game against Wilson played at the Tacoma Dome.

The Rams jumped ahead, 5-2, with the help of a three-point shot basket by Mikey Hope.

Dickerson answered that by scoring two to cut the lead to 5-4 with 6:30 to go in the quarter.

Wilson then took an 8-4 advantage, and built it to 18-10 before Roosevelt Jones helped to keep the game from getting out of reach too early, sinking a three-point shot from the right corner right at the buzzer.

The Rams came up empty on two free-throw shots to open the second quarter, and Dickerson took advantage by scoring two from underneath to make it 18-15 at the 7:33 mark.

Tyrell Lewis followed with a tip-in to make it 18-17 at 6:54 to play in the half.

Federal Way fell behind, 32-27, by halftime, in spite of another Dickerson two-hander at the 3:00 mark. But a low-scoring third quarter was dominated by the Eagles.

Senior guard and floor leader Isiah Umipig struck from underneath to make it 32-29 with 6:39 left and Dickerson added wo at 3:28 left -- with no scores by either team in between.

Jerry Duckworth then delivered a three-point shot to the hoop for a 34-32 lead at 2:36 to go.

Hope hit Wilson's only basket of the quarter to tie it at 34-34 with 2:05 left, but Lewis dazzled the crowd by soaring to the hoop to knock down a ball that was popping back out at 1:42.

The Eagles' 36-34 lead held through halftime, before Wilson stuck like mud on Federal Way's sneakers through most of the fourth quarter.
Federal Way only led, 44-43, but the tide turned on a couple of turnovers. The Eagles lost the ball on a 10-second call, then Wilson gave up a 30-second call.

Robert Christopher of the Eagles was then fouled while going to the hoop and made his ensuing free throw to complete a three-point play.
Jibreel Stevens of Wilson followed by making one of two free throws to make it 47-44, but that was it for the Rams' scoring as the Eagles padded the lead to 49-44 with 47 seconds left.

Dickerson sank a shot with 29.9 seconds to go, then Umipig made a pair of free throws in a one-and-one situation to make it 53-44 with 17.0 seconds left.

Dickerson missed the front end of a one-and-one with 8.6 seconds left, but Wilson only had time for Perris Jackson to miss a three-pointer from the right side.

Christopher backed up Dickerson wih 22 points and nine rebounds and Umipig and Lewis sank eight apiece.

Dickerson, Umipig, Christopher and George Williams all graduate from this year's team, while Lewis, Duckworth, Jones and D'Londo Tucker can all return.