DECATUR -- The Decatur senior boys and girls basketball teams were on the road Dec. 19 as they traveled to Coal Hill to take on the JC Westside Rebels in the first conference game of the season.
Coach John Unger's Bulldogs took control of the game from the start, holding the Rebels scoreless in the first period.
"We really turned up the pressure on JC Westside. We played extremely hard on the defensive end and got some easy layups to get our offense going," Unger said. "We held them to 2 points in the second quarter and that was what we needed to get us going into halftime."
Unfortunately for the Rebels, the Bulldogs continued to play their fast paced, aggressive game style throughout the third and fourth periods.
"In the second half we played really good offense and did what we needed to do so that we could finish the game in a positive way," Unger said. "I was really impressed with our leadership today and how we stepped up and put the pressure on them from the beginning of the game and never let up."
In the end, the Bulldogs walked away with their first conference victory of the season, winning by the score of 49 to 32 and pushing Decatur's overall record to 7 and 4.
"It's always great to be 1-0 in conference. A great way to start the conference season," Unger said.
Leading scorer for the Bulldogs was Mario Urquidi, who had 11 points and 14 rebounds, followed by Pheng Lee with 9 points and 3 rebounds and Bracy Owens with 8 points and 1 rebound.
Others scoring were Allan Castaneda - 4 points and 3 rebounds; Meng Vang - 4 points and 4 rebounds; Jay Porter - 4 points and 2 rebounds; Terry Kell - 3 points and 2 rebounds; Victor Urquidi - 2 points and 4 rebounds; Kyle Shaffer - 2 points and 1 rebound; Ryan Shaffer - 2 points and 1 rebound. Total - 49 points and 35 rebounds.
"We continue to improve on both ends of the floor and are getting better at the little things," Unger concluded. "We are looking forward to the Heber Springs Tournament and the competition we will face down there and then getting back into conference play."
The Lady Dogs played the Lady Rebels at Coal Hill Dec. 19. They walked away with a loss, 63 to 29.
While the Lady Dogs have played a much-improved defensive game, they still struggle to put the ball into the bucket.
Leading scorers were Cameron Shaffer with 18 points and Sarah Harris with 11.
The Bulldogs' next games will be Jan. 2 when they take on Union Christian Academy at Peterson Gym in Decatur. Both junior high school and senior high school boys and girls will be in action. Games start at 4 p.m.
Sports on 12/31/2014