Third quarter dynamite devastated the opposition and led the SPSL 3A league leading Decatur Gators to a 55-37 boys' basketball verdict against the visiting Bonney Lake Panthers.

Decatur won its seventh game in a row to raise its overall record to 11-4 while developing a 5-0 league standard. Bonney Lake fell to 6-9 and 1-4.

"We're really coming together as a team," said Decatur head coach Kevin Olson. "Our defense in the third quarter was really good. We challenged ourselves in December to raise our level and step up. The win against Lakes was huge. We need to continue taking care of business and don't look by anybody."

Leading 29-25 with 6:31 remaining in the third quarter, the Gators began gobbling up the Gator Dome court. Being patient with its ball movement, Decatur picked apart the Panther defense for good drives inside that led to close range baskets.

As the defense extended its territory to full court domination, the Gators literally ran away with the result with an up tempo pace against a foe that had problems scoring points, protecting the ball and guarding the boards.

Junior Jason Young came off the bench to ignite a Decatur charge with three consecutive inside baskets before Markus Rawls torched a three-pointer. Rawls and Dom Hunter proceeded to prolong the rally as continuing catalysts in the Gators' 15-0 scoring surge that pushed Decatur to a 44-25 lead after three quarters.

With Rawls and Hunter still toiling hard, the Gators poured in an eight point barrage to reach their biggest lead at 52-25 at the 4:44 mark of the fourth quarter.

Mikey Berger ended the Panther scoring drought with a basket 27 seconds later. From early in the third quarter until Berger's basket, Bonney Lake suffered through more than 11 minutes of scoreless action.

Aggression and ball pilfering in the first quarter forecasted the formidable formula for future fortunes for Decatur. The Gators sealed the rebounding glass off and limited the Panthers to one shot on the offensive end while the rebounding strength empowered Decatur to quick transition baskets.

An 8-0 scoring streak had the Golden Gators ahead 18-7 late in the first quarter, but Bonney Lake used three-point goals to stay close and eventually flow back into contention with nine consecutive points and trail only 20-19 with 4:32 until halftime.

Inside baskets and tough defense keyed the run, but two and one-half minutes of offensive stagnation by both squads ensued. Abraham Ferell-Logan dropped in two free throws to ignite a seven point Gator point surge ahead of a Panther hoop to send Decatur into halftime with a 27-21 advantage with the decisive third quarter just ahead.

Hunter scored 17 Gator points and added six rebounds. Recording a solid all-around performance, Rawls notched 13 points while grabbing seven boards and dishing out six assists. Mike Gould led Bonney Lake with 11 points.