3A district semis: Lincoln comeback ‘for the city,' Auburn Mountainview beats Gig Harbor

Yahoo

19-02-2025

It looked like the youth of Lincoln's roster might finally catch up to it. The Abes, who feature just two juniors and no seniors, looked frustrated against the No. 3 seed Federal Way Eagles in a 3A District 3/4 semifinal game on Tuesday night at Mount Tahoma High School.
The shots weren't falling and the calls weren't going Lincoln's way. The boiling point came when Lincoln coach Ryan Rogers received a technical foul early in the fourth quarter after bending the official's ear for several minutes on the sideline.
Federal Way led by 10 at one point late in the game. Then Lincoln dug deep, putting together stops on the defensive end and converting transition shots at the other end. Junior post Kasey Williams came up with a big 3-point play, guard O'Shea Lamar came up with a clutch steal and a pair of free throws and Lincoln completed the improbable comeback, stunning Federal Way, 57-56 to advance to the 3A District 3/4 championship game on Saturday.
'It's amazing,' said Lincoln sophomore guard Trey Collier, who scored a team-high 16 points. 'I've never heard of anybody like this, our team. Two juniors, the (oldest) we've got. We're doing it for our city so it feels great.'
Lincoln, the tournament's No. 2 seed, got production from a lot of its young roster on Tuesday: Collier led the way with 16, freshman Davion Shareef-Dulaney scored 11, Williams had 11, Lamar had eight and forward Justus Holt added eight.
'That's what makes our team so special — it's any guy's night on any given day,' Rogers said. 'We can go 10, 12 deep. … It's just a domino effect.'
It feels like Lincoln is ahead of schedule, but there's a familiarity between the players that has them playing beyond their years.
'Just our chemistry,' Collier said. 'We've known each other our whole lives. We don't let the little things get in our heads, conflict us. Just working together throughout the season, learning little things throughout the season has helped us peak at the perfect time.'
Guard Brayden McVey led Federal Way with a game-high 19 points in the loss.
Top-seeded Auburn Mountainview was on the cusp of getting knocked off by Gig Harbor in the second semifinal game at Mount Tahoma on Tuesday night. Then Sebastian Arius, this winter's 3A NPSL Most Valuable Player, took over.
He scored 17 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, including a pair of clutch 3-pointers and the go-ahead basket and free throw, to lead the Lions from behind against Gig Harbor, 67-66.
'I just couldn't let (my team) down,' Arius said. 'I led them this far and they look for me at the end of the game. I had to finish it off.'
It wasn't Arius' best shooting night from deep prior to the fourth quarter. The two 3-pointers he hit were his only two of the game. They came at an opportune time.
'It was big,' he said. 'I just gotta keep shooting at the end of the day, like my coach says. Just keep reminding me, just keep shooting and it's gonna fall eventually. It felt nice to see a couple go down.'
Junior guard Kolven Posey added 16 for the Lions. Gig Harbor 6-foot-8 forward Michael Masini led the Tides with 18 points, 15 of which he scored in the first half. Cole Browne and Ty Buchanan added 15 apiece.
Auburn Mountainview (22-1 overall) has been one of the South Sound's fun stories this year, putting together a nearly flawless season under coach Kendall White after a 14-8 campaign last year. Now, the Lions will play Tacoma's Lincoln High for the 3A District 3/4 title on Saturday.
'It's a blessing, honestly,' Arius said. 'It's really just a blessing.'