Lights-out defense midway through the third quarter changed the boys basketball game's direction as the unranked Todd Beamer Titans went on a 26-9 run in that frame for a come-from-behind, 70-63, win over their bright, shining, state ranked No. 9 visiting rival Decatur Gators.

Both now share second place in the South Puget Sound League South Division after Tuesday's action.

"Transitions, turnovers all over the place," said Gators head coach Kevin Olson, who's done a fine job coaching this team to a sixth place 4A state finish two years ago and last year making it to state, too.

That is exactly what the Gators (6-2 league, 8-3 overall) needed to do -- stop the press. And they didn't.

Leading the Titans, 35-29, after the first and second quarters ended on a Napa Mefi three-pointer to end the half for what gave the Titans (6-2, 8-3) good hope of otherwise being down nine.

"It swung the momentum," said Kevin Davis, the 6-foot, 8-inch star center for the Titans, who played gracefully and powerfully for 30 points, 17 rebounds, and nine blocks in this big time match.

Then the third quarter came, and the press...

The Gators could not stop that coming-on, massive, defensive disturbance, as the Titans, trailing 42-40 with 4:11 left in the third stanza, employed a press for the first time in the game. And it was sweet music for the Titans fans, and also for a large, raucous student section that thorougly manhandled the smaller but formidable Gators student faithful across the basketball court.

The Titans outscored the Gators over the next 3 minutes, 40 seconds, thanks to that press. The damage was a 13-0 run, and the Titans led, 53-44, with 1:10 left in the third quarter and 55-44 heading into the fourth.

The Titans were huge in that run that started with Davis going deep from three-point land, showing his vast repertoire of skills that included three dunks on the night. Then, leading the Gators, 43-42, following a Mefi three before the Davis bomb, it was a great drive to the paint by Mefi, who had 21 points on the night. His drive could have been a pretty easy shot for own points to his total.

Or, not, two Gators in the paint may have blocked anything he put up there as Jordan McCloud, a 6-6 junior, can do that. But Mefi, in mid-air, almost at the rim, dished off an underhand, seam-splitter between the Gators to Davis...
Dunk! That made it 45-42 and ignited the slew of points immediately following for that big 11 point Titans lead going into the fourth.

"We were sharing the ball, that's what gave us our lead," said Mefi.

In the fourth quarter, the Gators came back to make a game of it, almost, but there was just too much total Titans pressing and unselfish passing power. With 5:37 left in the fourth quarter, the Gators having been on a 8-3 run to open the fourth, it was the Titans' Davis dunking on a great feed, alley-oop ball from Mefi that made it 60-52.

Hard to tell if Davis doesn't have wings, the way he flies. The dunks were awesome and an alley-oop is always spectacular. Two own dunks and three alley-oops begins to tell those in attendance the circus act they missed.

But one needs help from his teammates to get above the rim like that.

"They did, a lot," said Davis.

Max and Vlad Aficiuc served up (alley oops) slams for Davis in this one, the six foot guard tandem that was also in on that press.
Vlad had seven points and three steals while Max came off the bench to get six steals.

Tiffany Rutter, who played on the Federal Way Eagles' 1989 girls state team taking second place in 4A and coached the Titans girls a few years in the recent past, said, "This guy has the least silent zero points. He doesn't score a lot but he makes a lot happen."

Indeed. Aficiuc was in the heart of that pressing defense that had one, two guys rotating to each Gator getting the ball passed at them and they committed five turnovers in that 13-0 run.

Scoring and shooting is a lot of basketball.

"And playing defense," said Mefi, a junior sharpshooting guard that is really a force when he's on.

Mefi made the aforementioned three-pointer to end the second quarter that put the Titans down six instead of nine points, a big psychological boost, the student fans said as they clapped inbetween chants, "That's a preview, that's a preview."

But the defense, yes, it was on, just like Mefi who made that huge three in the third that gave the Titans their first lead of the game, 38-37, in the third. The defense was all over the place.

"The third quarter we started pressing," said Mefi. "Max, Vlad, Terrelle, Lorenzo (Holcomb) all flying around."

Give coach Brent Brilhante the nod for brilliant strategy to hold that little number (the press) inside the playbook until just the right time, but give someone else all the credit for creating the pressing, defensive frenzy that would be the Gators' undoing in this one.

"That is the first time we have played that defense, installed by (assistant) coach (Matt) Leamer," said Brilhante.

Being humble, not taking credit for it? That was an amazing thing, you just suddenly began smothering the Gators like they were fire that needed to be put out.

"It's the truth," said Brilhante.

This time the choice couldn't have been made at a better time, the third quarter.

"I learned something from coach Olson (of the Gators)," said Brilhante. "I wanted to hold that in our pocket."

What a play. What a game.

The Gators led, 18-15, after the first quarter, behind Jerron Smith's seven points to start his team on a hot foot. Smith now shows a much stronger driving to the hoop game now, too. Smith led the Gators with 18 points, but was held scoreless except being fouled on a three point try. He sank three free throws for a 31-22 Gator lead.

The Gators built their lead to 35-26 with 30 seconds left in the second quarter on a Terrell Williams basket.

"We weren't making our shots and weren't getting back on defense, I told them they (Gators) got 10-12 points easy that way because not getting back on defense," said Brilhante of the first half that had the Gators get seven more shots taken than the Titans. The Gators also made four more shots, 12-for-24 shooting for the Gators first half and 8-for-17 for the Titans.

After the Gators' point guard, Williams, made his shot to tie the Gators' biggest lead of the night (nine points), it was Mefi making a long three pointer. Olson did say that his team must have been on cruise control because no one was in Mefi's face for that shot to end the half.

"We blew it, we didn't play the last two seconds of the first half," said Olson.

What do you tell your kids after this loss?

"I tell them we got outplayed," said Olson.

Both the Gators and Titans are in the mix for the South Puget Sound League South crown, but they need help, from each other ironically, to both beat Curtis in second half season games. For one the Titans hope to win on the Gators' floor in a game Feb. 2.

"We are back in it. It puts us back in the hunt for the championship," said Brilhante. "Now the kids need to buy in to coming out hard in practice and coming out hard on the court."

McCloud made 13 points for the Gators, coming alive in the second half for 10 of his overall points. Terrelle Loggins did a good job with driving for most of his points for the Titans, scoring 11. He's a good transfer from Spanaway Lake in the off-season for the Titans.

Terrence Peters scored 11 for the Gators and Dominick Samuels added 10.

"Nobody on our team gave up," said Mefi.

"Nobody" may be the only ones who beat the Titans down the line if they keep clicking like this.