Bulldogs come close to victory over Colcord

Trey Kell drove down the court during the Dec. 12 game against the Colcord (Okla.) Hornets. Decatur lost the game 48-42 in overtime.
Trey Kell drove down the court during the Dec. 12 game against the Colcord (Okla.) Hornets. Decatur lost the game 48-42 in overtime.

— The Bulldogs lost 48-42 to the Colcord, Okla., Hornets during overtime in a non-conference game in the Lloyd Peterson Gymnasium on Dec. 13.

The Bulldogs were winning 19-10 at halftime, but the Hornets came back in the second half of the game and tied the game 38-38 in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs played their best during the first half of the game, scoring 11 points in the second quarter while keeping the Hornets’ from gaining any points, according to head coach John Unger.

“Anytime you hold an opponent to zero points in a quarter, you are playing good basketball,” he said.

Freshman Mario Urquidi scored the most points for Decatur with a total of 18, followed by junior Andrew Harris with 9 points.

Guards Evan Owens, Dakota Pitcher and Victor Urquidi also played a good game, Unger said.

“The home crowd gave us a boost. They always give us energy,” he said.

During the second half of the game, freshman VictorUrquidi - whom Unger described as a natural leader - fouled out, breaking up the dynamic between him and his twin brother Mario Urquidi.

“I think we all thought we were going to win,” said Unger, explaining that the team needs to build confidence and learn how to keep up the pressure all the way to the end of the game.

“It was a good learning experience for a young team,” Unger said.

The team has nine juniors, one sophomore and two freshmen, and all the players will be returning next year, he said.

The Bulldogs also lost the non-conference game against the West Fork Tigers on Dec. 16 with a final score of 65-17.

The West Fork Tigers went to state last year in the 3A conference and Unger said playing the larger and more seasoned team was a great experience.

“Nobody in this arena thinks we will win. The reason we are here is to see where we want to be,” Unger told his team. Many of the West Fork team members have played together since they were 8 years old and six of the players were on lastyear’s championship team.

The Bulldogs have faced a rough schedule this season, playing West Fork in the 3A conference, Gravette in the 4A conference, JC Westside (the top school in the East Arkansas 2A conference) and County Line (the top school in the 4-2A conference).

Unger said the team works hard every day in practice and the day after the Colcord game was their best practice of the year.

He firmly believes - and teaches his players - that all the hard work will pay off in the end.

“It’s going to happen, no question, we’re going to start winning some games,” he said.

Lady Bulldog Basketball

The Lady Bulldogs lost the Dec. 13 non-conference game against the Colcord Hornets 80-23.

Coach Larry Claphan said he saw improvement in rebounding and turnovers despite the dismal loss.

“That’s the goal for us right now, to improve rebounding and to get more physical,” he said.

Sophomore Brittany Frost, who scored 10 points on Dec. 13, has been the leading scorer of the past three games. Hannah Ramsey is also playing harder on the inside game, he said. Theteam has had success with getting more players consistently scoring, Claphan said.

“We’re improving and playing harder. Now we have some things to build on,” he said.

Sports, Pages 9 on 12/21/2011