Redmond rocks FW in opening day's biggest upset

TACOMA — If anybody thought Redmond was just happy to be here, well guess what?

The Mustangs, who lost 10 of 13 in the middle of the season, who survived four loser-out dramas at districts, who epitomized underdog with their scruffy, shaggy haircuts, shocked fourth-ranked Federal Way 64-62 Wednesday at the Tacoma Dome, in the biggest first-round upset at the Class 4A boys basketball tournament.

"The Seattle Times ranked us 16th out of 16 teams in the state tournament," said Redmond guard Bryce Bircher, who scored eight and had a team-high six assists. "We wanted to just go out and prove that we belonged."

The Mustangs (14-12) outhustled, outscrapped and, in a tight, back-and-forth tussle, outdefended the Eagles and stopped high-scoring Terrell Smith in the final moments. Smith, the Greater Seattle area scoring leader (26 points per game) finished with 27 points, but missed a chance to give the Eagles (19-5) the lead late with an offensive foul on a drive to the basket.

The scene after the Mustangs win was pure jubilation. Players laughed and danced on the court and fans dogpiled in the stands. Galen Squiers led Redmond with 22 points, and Zach Aaron added 16 points and seven rebounds.

In the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Thursday, Redmond will play second-ranked Ferris of Spokane, which remained undefeated (26-0) by rolling over Kentwood, 61-38.

Ferris center DeAngelo Casto, an explosive 6-foot-8, established himself as the tournament's most physically imposing player. With his cornrows flying, Casto threw down a pair of two-handed dunks early against the Conquerors, for four of his team-high 19 points. Kentwood's 6-7 freshman phenom, Josh Smith, had 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

"We kind of have a chip on our shoulders," Casto said, "because we're the only undefeated team and people are saying it's easier over in Eastern Washington. We got to prove ourselves over here."

Ferris seems to be on a collision course with top-ranked Franklin (22-2), the defending champions who sprinted past Mariner of Everett 78-50 in the late game. Barring upsets, they'd meet in the semifinals Friday.

Franklin plays unranked Eisenhower of Yakima, which beat eight-ranked Bethel of Graham 50-48, at 8:30 tonight.

Earlier, the Tacoma Dome looked more like a South Puget Sound League coaches' meeting. Six teams from the league made state, including four — Kentridge, Decatur, Federal Way and Kentwood — from the SPSL North.

Third-ranked Decatur (24-2) edged seventh-ranked Snohomish 53-50, fueled by the exciting backcourt of Marcus Tibbs and Michael Hale, who combined for 26 points and six steals.

With his team up 51-50, Tibbs stole a Snohomish pass — the last of 18 Snohomish turnovers — and raced down the court for a layup with 3.2 second left . Snohomish's Tim Diederichs missed a three-pointer to tie at the buzzer.

Hale, a 5-7 122-pound sophomore, endured derisive chants — references to Gary Coleman, Lil' Bow-wow and various cartoon characters — driving relentlessly into the Panthers defense for layups, scoring 16 points, tied for team high.

"We've seen quick players before, maybe not a team as quick," said Snohomish coach Len Bone. "That disrupted us a lot."

In the first game of the day, fifth-ranked Kentridge used a much different style — pure power — to destroy sixth-ranked Edmonds-Woodway, the Northwest District champion, 63-42. Renado Parker, a 6-5 junior forward, scored 19 points, and 6-6, 270-pound teammate Travis Sterling bulled his way to nine points and 11 rebounds.

"We have the two best big men in the state," said teammate Brandon Turner, the third Chargers threat with 18 points and 10 boards.

The day offered redemption for Sterling, a senior who was dismissed from the junior varsity last season and returned after a long talk with coach Dave Jamison.

If Kentridge (23-2) beats Prairie in the quarterfinals 3:30 p.m. Thursday, and Decatur gets by Pasco at 5 p.m., the two SPSL rivals would meet in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday.

Prairie (13-11) beat Garfield (12-11) 70-60 in the only first-round matchup between teams with double-digit losses. Prairie, led by Jeff Dorman's 22, beat a Bulldogs team making its first state appearance since 2002.

Tenth-ranked Pasco (19-7) ended ninth-ranked Curtis' title hopes, 65-55, with 21 points from Shayne Kelly, who also quarterbacked the Pasco football team that lost the historic nine-overtime quarterfinal playoff game to Bothell last fall.

Curtis (19-7) of University Place put up a valiant effort but ran out of gas without leading scorer and SPSL South MVP Gerald Hill (18 points per game), who was on crutches with a screw in his broken left foot.

Before the season, Curtis lost Isaiah Thomas, who averaged 40.5 points in last year's tournament but transferred to a Connecticut prep school to improve his grades.

Michael Ko: 206-515-5536 or mko@seattletimes.com