Bulldogs fall to Mission Warriors

— The senior boys and girls traveled to Oaks, Okla., to play the Mission Warriors in basketball on Nov. 14.

The senior boys fought hard throughout the game but came up short, losing to the Warriors 54 to 45.

“I thought we played well at times, but it is not where we want to be. We know we are better,” John Unger, Decatur’s head basketball coach, stated. “I give credit to the Oaks players for making plays when they needed them.”

This was the opening game for the Decatur senior boys. It was the fi rst time for the team to see action on the court against an opponent. This gave Unger a chance to see areas which need improvement.

“Our half-court defense has to get better, we have to learn to rebound better and we have to learn how to play on the road,” Unger said.

With a new season comes a lot of new faces, some having never stepped foot on a basketball court. One of the coach’s biggest challenges is fi nding hidden talent in his players. Once he spots these hidden traits, he can begin to pull that talent to the surface to use to his advantage as the season progresses.

“We started two sophomores that are only going to get better for us,” Unger said.

The Bulldogs’ leading scorer was 6’4” junior guard/forward, MarioUrquidi, who had 22 points and 12 rebounds against the Mission Warriors.

“Mario Urquidi played a great game with a doubledouble in points and rebounds,” Unger stated. “He still has room for improvement and will only get better as the season progresses.”

Another player who had a good night was a sophomore guard, Meng Vang, who scored 10 points and had eight rebounds.

Unger looks ahead to the 2013-14 basketball season.

“We are going to have a terrific season and this loss will serve as a great learning tool,” Unger said.

In the girls game, the lady Bulldogs lost to the Warriors 78 to 6. Bill Nivens, Decatur girls’ basketball coach, cited the lack of fi ve-on-five play in practice as part of the problem. The senior girls only have eight players on the team this season.

”It’s hard to play a game when you can’t play fi veon-five basketball until we get into a game setting,” Nivens said.

The next game for the Decatur Bulldogs senior boys’ and girls’ basketball teams will be on Nov. 26, against Hass Hall at Fayetteville Christian School in Fayetteville. Game time will be at 5:30 p.m.

More stats: Scoring 45 points, 32 rebounds, 3 blocked shots, 19 fouls.

Other players scoring: Peng Vang - 6 points, 2 rebounds; Kyle Shaffer - 5 points, 6 rebounds; Allen Castaneda - 2 points, 3 rebounds

Sports, Pages 9 on 11/27/2013