When the position of chairman of the boards was up for grabs, six-foot, five-inch, senior Darious Walker emphatically submitted his resume

Viciously assaulting the rim for 16 points while confidently capturing 10 caroms, Walker led the Class 4A state ninth-ranked Gators to an avenging 57-46 South Puget Sound League boys basketball victory against bitter, crosstown rival and eighth-ranked Federal Way Thursday at the Gator Dome.

After Friday's results, Decatur (15-3 overall) found itself tied with Kentridge atop the SPSL North with a 10-2 record. Federal Way (12-4) slipped back to 9-3 in a second place deadlock with Kentwood with Tuesday games (after press time) and the regular season finales this Friday still pending.

Shortly before tip-off, Decatur coach Kevin Olson advised Walker to set aside thoughts of the four-way tie for first place and to even forget about Senior Night in order to focus on one thing - hauling in rebounds.

"I told Darious before the game that if he gets three rebounds we'll lose," explained Olson. "but if he gets 10 or 15 we'll win. He was on a mission. Obviously we're not huge in the middle. But we're quick and we're strong and we need Darious to use that, and when he does we're very good."

Executing a nearly flawless first half in front of a raucous, standing room only audience, the Gators rocketed to a 15-8 first quarter lead before ballooning the margin to 32-16 dominance at halftime.

"It's amazing how we play in front of our home fans," an exhilarated Michael Hale said. "It's incredible."

Hale benefitted from Walker's performance by scoring eight points.

Federal Way was disturbed by 12 first half turnovers and 22 for the game.

"They were not forced, pressure turnovers," stated Eagle coach Jerome Collins. "It's been our Achilles heel...That's okay. Our kids will learn from that. In the meantime, I really think we can do a better job of taking care of the ball."

Part of the Federal Way rhythm has been absent with injured point guard Isiah Umipig missing seven consecutive games.

The Eagles refused to fold their tent and meekly go away. As Decatur fell off its game and shot 3 of 15 from the floor, two free throws from Aaron Broussard began a furious Federal Way rally that was capped by Broussard's 3-point rainbow that drew the Eagles within 40-34 at the third quarter buzzer.

Early in the fourth quarter, Federal Way narrowed the Decatur lead to 41-36 as 5:20 showed in regulation play. On their next four possessions the Eagles came up empty on points before a pivotal putback by Walker stretched the Gator lead to seven. Walker hauled in four key offensive boards down the stretch while the Gators converted free throws and drained the clock for the win.

"When Walker is playing like that, he makes it easier for me and Michael (Hale) to pass the ball off," said Marcus Tibbs, who used his quickness against a bigger defender to go to the hoop for 19 points and seven rebounds. "He just played a great game for the team tonight. We thought we were the better team and we had to come out and show it."

For the game, Decatur was only 18 of 46 from the floor, but the Gators cashed in on 16 of 24 free throws, including 13 of 20 in the final quarter.

"For the past few games, I really wasn't pushing myself to the boards," Walker proclaimed. "I'm selfish now when it comes to rebounds - I want them all. I'll go over the court to get them. We wanted to come out as a team and dominate and get that first spot."

With the division race going down to the wire, Olson had some closing thoughts.

"We haven't beaten any of the top teams, so people were saying that Decatur was out of the gate early and now they'e flattened out," he declared. "Tonight we showed we're the real deal."

Federal Way received 19 points from Broussard and 11 points from Jeff Forbes.