PEA RIDGE -- The Decatur Bulldog senior boys traveled northwest to participate in the first annual Battle at the Ridge boys' basketball tournament at Pea Ridge High School. The Bulldogs faced the host team, the Pea Ridge Blackhawks, in the fourth game of the first round on Dec. 10.
Decatur scored first followed by Pea Ridge 30 seconds later. The lead would change hands two more times until the Blackhawks gained a three-point advantage at the end of the first quarter, 13 to 10. Pea Ridge picked up the pace in the second quarter, taking a 25 to 17 lead into the halftime break. The Blackhawks continued their dominance over Decatur, extending their lead to 19 by the end of the third quarter. By the end of the fourth, the Blackhawks were up by 22 to take a 60 to 38 victory and a berth in the winners round. Decatur advanced to the loser's bracket to take on the Pierce City, Mo., Eagles on Dec. 11.
Taylor Haisman was named most valuable player of the first game for Decatur.
"We fought hard and battled a really good Pea Ridge team," said John Unger, Decatur's head basketball coach. "We executed well in the first half and kept it close. I was proud of our effort and the way this team is coming around."
In the second game, Decatur scored first on a three-pointer by Bracy Owens. However, the rest of the first quarter would only see a total of 10 points scored as both teams had trouble at the boards. Decatur gained the upper hand and led 8 to 5 at the end of the first.
Pierce City, which is near Monett, fought back to within one point, 17 to 16, by the end of the second quarter. The third would not see any points scored until the 6:48 mark when a free throw by the Eagles tied the game at 17. From that point on, the game went back and forth, with Pierce City tying the game at 27 at the end of the third.
The Bulldogs regained the lead in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. At the 3:37 mark, the Eagles tied the game at 31 all. The game was tied at 33 at the buzzer, sending it into overtime.
Pierce City gained the lead during the first 30 seconds, but the Bulldogs hit a deuce to tie the game at 35. The game then was in the Eagles' favor until a two-point shot and one-point free throw by Jay Porter gave the Bulldogs the lead, 38 to 35. Porter was fouled with 52 seconds left in the overtime and hit both free throws to extend Decatur's lead by five and put the game out of reach for the Eagles. Decatur finished the game with a 40 to 35 victory and advanced to the final round in a battle for fifth place on Dec. 12. The win was the third of the season for the Decatur senior boys.
Jay Porter was named most valuable player for Decatur.
"It's always good to win and our kids executed at the right time late in the game and we pulled it off," Unger said. "We battled all night and our guys did just enough to get the win. It's always hard to play back-to-back days, but we fought through it and came out on top."
Decatur played the stronger Malvern Leopards for a fifth-place finish in the Battle at the Ridge tournament but could not handle the taller and more aggressive Leopards and lost, 68 to 29, for a sixth-place finish in the tournament.
The Decatur senior boys and girls were scheduled to open conference play against JC Westside at home Dec. 15 at Peterson Gym (after press time). The Bulldogs defeated the Rebels in the second round of the Decatur Holiday Basketball tournament Dec. 3. The Bulldogs will travel south to take on the Union Christian Eagles in Fort Smith on Dec. 18 for their final game of 2015.
They resume play Jan. 5 when they take on Hartford at Peterson Gym. Game time is 5 p.m. for the junior high girls, followed by the senior high girls and boys. For a more information on upcoming games, go to decatursd.com/athletics.
Sports on 12/16/2015