DECATUR — As the 2016-17 regular season winds down, the Decatur Bulldogs senior boys' basketball team split a pair of games, losing to the Leopards at Alpena and earning a victory at home against the Tigers of Lead Hill.
Decatur opened the week with a conference game Jan. 24 at Alpena. The Bulldogs kept pace with Alpena throughout most of the contest, closing to within two points in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. But Alpena, in second place in the 1A district 1 conference going into this game, widened the gap and took the victory, 65-57.
It was a completely different story Jan 27 as the Bulldogs returned home to take on the Tigers of Lead Hill at Peterson Gym in Decatur.
The Bulldogs scored first on a three-point shot by senior Bracy Owens. Decatur widened its lead to 12 by the end of the first quarter. But the Tigers managed to stay in the contest and cut the lead to nine at halftime.
Lead Hill continued to whittle down Decatur's lead throughout much of the second half. At the 3:01 mark in the final quarter, the Tigers tied the contest at 51 all. For the next 90 seconds, both teams, defenses held fast, preventing any score. With 91 seconds left to play, the Bulldogs jumped out in front on another three-pointer by Owens. Lead Hill closed the game to within one, with 12 seconds remaining, when the Tigers fouled Owens at mid-court. He sank both free-throws, sealing the Bulldog victory, 58-55. Decatur is now 6-11 overall going into the final full week of the season.
Owens played one of his best games of the season, scoring 23 points, 11 in the first quarter. Owens also sank three three-pointers, two in the first half and one in the second.
Besides Owens, Leng Lee scored 12 points, followed by Marck Guadarrama with 10. Also scoring were Taylor Haisman with 5, Wyatt Bingham with 4, Levi Newman and Jimmy Mendoza, each with 2.
The Bulldogs began the final full week of the 2016-17 season on the road against St. Paul Jan. 30 and against Omaha on Jan. 31.
Decatur returns to Peterson Gym Feb. 3 for the final home game of the season against old rivals, the Highlanders of Eureka Springs. This will be the final home appearance for Leng Lee, Marck Guadarrama, Jay Porter, Bracy Owens, Wyatt Bingham and Ayden Cook. Game time is at 7 p.m.
The Decatur and Gentry junior high A and B teams played Jan. 26 at Peterson Gym in Decatur. The Decatur junior high B team held on to win against Gentry. 16-9. In the junior high A matchup. the Pioneers overwhelmed the Bulldogs, 56-19.
Sports on 02/01/2017