DECATUR -- While the Lady Bulldogs had one of their best nights of the season so far, the Decatur Bulldogs were not so fortunate. The Life Way Warriors from Centerton handed them yet another loss for the 2017 season.
The two teams had met earlier during the Decatur Holiday Hoops basketball tournament Dec. 28. In that contest, Life Way overpowered Decatur, taking the victory and eliminating the host team from the tournament.
As was the case with the tournament matchup, Life Way quickly established control of the contest, outscoring Decatur 20-4 in the first quarter. The Bulldogs tried to stage a comeback, taking control of the second quarter and outscoring the Warriors 14-7 and cutting the Decatur deficit to nine, 27-18, going into the break.
The third quarter was more of a defensive battle with a combined 13 total points scored, allowing the Bulldogs to stay within 10 points going into the final quarter. Life Way regained its dominance of the final eight minutes of the game, effectively shutting down the Decatur offense and holding the Bulldogs to a mere four points.
The Life Way Warriors walked away with yet another victory over the Decatur Bulldogs, 49-28.
Leading the scoring drive for the Decatur Bulldogs was Jimmy Mendoza with eight, followed by Levi Newman and Ryan Ross with six each. Taylor Haisman ended the night with four, while teammates Jose Rubi and Cayden Bingham each had two.
The junior high boys played a much closer game and they controlled the first quarter, taking a five-point lead going into the start of the second. Life Way came back midway through the second quarter and held a slim margin going into the break. The lead changed hands several times during the second half. With three and a half minutes left to play, the junior high Bulldogs held a single point lead over the Warriors when the Life Way coach called a timeout.
The momentum of the contest shifted in Life Way's favor and they ended the game with a 41-33 win over the junior high Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs closed out the 2017 part of their season at home when they played the Watts Engineers from Watts, Okla., on Dec. 19. Scores were unavailable at press time.
Sports on 12/20/2017