DECATUR -- Decatur High School played host to eight teams from Arkansas and one from Missouri in the second annual Decatur Holiday Hoops Basketball Tournament at the Dawg Pound (Peterson Gym) in Decatur Dec. 1-6.
Boys' and girls' teams from Hass Hall, Mansfield, Lincoln, Gravette, West Fork, Eureka Springs, Exeter, Mo., and the host team, the Decatur Bulldogs, participated in this year's event.
There were four games, two boys' and two girls,' on Monday and Tuesday nights. The winners of each contest went on to play the winners of the next game on Wednesday and Thursday nights. The losers played in a bracket vying for a third-place trophy. Two losses and the team was eliminated.
The Decatur Lady Bulldogs played the Gravette Lady Lions in the opening round. Gravette made easy work of Decatur, winning by 30 points, 54 to 34.
The Lady Bulldogs played in the losers bracket against Exeter, Mo., Dec. 3. The Bulldogs played well defensively against the Tigers and took the lead for the first time since the season began. But it was short lived as Exeter regained it on the next play.
The Lady Dogs kept the score within four points through the middle of the forth period. Then the Tigers mounted an 11-0 run before Decatur scored again in the final minute of the game. Exeter won, 25 to 16, to advance to the third round of the losers bracket. In the end, it was the Bulldogs lack of experience shooting the ball that put them out of the tournament, a problem that has plagued Bill Nivens' Lady Bulldogs all season.
Game three of the opening round of the boys' bracket pitted the Bulldogs against the Mansfield Tigers on Dec. 2. From the opening tip off, the game was fast pace as both teams fought for a first-round win.
At times the game seemed a little too fast pace because player after player knocked others onto the floor, either fighting for a rebound or racing toward the basket.
As the final minutes of the fourth period counted down, the Bulldogs were down by 10. They tried to play catch up, but Mansfield proved too much and they took game three, 50 to 43. Mansfield advanced to winners' bracket to take on the West Fork Tigers, while Decatur advanced to the second round in the losers' bracket against conference rival Eureka Springs.
"We didn't make enough plays down the stretch to pull this one out," John Unger, Decatur head coach, said. "We will use this game as a lesson in little things."
When the Bulldogs took the court on day three of the tournament, there was a noticeable change in their demeanor. From the opening tip, Decatur hit the court running. They quickly pulled ahead of the Highlanders and never looked back. The Bulldogs took the contest, 50 to 39, stunning the Highlanders.
"We played extremely hard and came out and set the tone on defense. We didn't give Eureka Springs any easy shots and we did a great job of team defense and rebounding," Unger said. "We responded well after a tough loss last night. That tells me the team is ready to improve and continue to work hard and get better."
On the fifth night of the tournament, 2A Decatur went head to head with the 4A Lincoln Wolves. In one of the most evenly matched games of the series, the Bulldogs took the lead. But this time, however, the Wolves were not going down without a fight. Throughout the entire game, the Bulldogs pulled ahead only to have the Wolves come back and tie the game. This went on the entire 32 minutes. Decatur had a two point lead going into the final few seconds of the game. A last second shot by Lincoln sent the game into overtime. Lincoln, however, could not overtake Decatur and, at the final buzzer, the Dogs took the game, 47 to 43, sending the Bulldogs into the final round of the loser's bracket and a possible third place finish.
"This is the biggest win for our teams since I've been at Decatur. We came out and went toe to toe with a good Lincoln team,' Unger said. "I was happy for our team, and I hope this effort continues into the next few months. If it does, we will contend for championships."
In an ironic twist of fate, Decatur played the same team that put them into the losers bracket Dec. 2, the Mansfield Tigers. It was all Bulldogs this time as they took revenge for their earlier upset, with a 45 to 33 win and a third-place finish.
"We played through some tiredness and scratched out the victory," Unger stated. "We got some great minutes from our bench and our team played tough mentally and we finished the game stronger than we did on Monday when we lost to Mansfield."
For the Decatur Bulldogs, the tournament gave them a chance to play several different types of teams with different types of strategies. They proved that they are up for the road to the championship.
Decatur traveled to the east to play in the Green Forest Tournament and take on one of the best teams in the area, the Huntsville Eagles, Dec. 8.
Sports on 12/10/2014