DECATUR -- The Decatur Bulldogs played their final home game of the 2016-17 season at Peterson Gym Feb. 3, taking on longtime rival, the Eureka Springs Highlanders. This was senior night for five Bulldogs, three Lady Bulldogs and one cheerleader.
In a brief ceremony before the boys' game, Leng Lee, Bracy Owens, Jason Porter, Wyatt Bingahm and Marck Guadarrama, along with Cameron Shaffer, Meagan Smith and Reyna Marciel, and cheerleader Makayla James were honored by friends, family and Bulldog fans for their years of service to the Decatur basketball program. Once the ceremony was over, it was time to play basketball.
Eureka Springs was the first to score, putting up a two pointer in the first five seconds of the contest. From that point on, the more aggressive Highlanders overwhelmed the Bulldog defense.
Eureka Springs' 6-foot-2 point guard, JM Gregg, along with 6-foot-3 point forward Carter Drennon and post Keeton Lofgren repeated attacks on the basket and left Decatur powerless to stop them. By the end of the first half, the Highlanders had built a 29-20 lead.
The Bulldogs fell farther behind in the third quarter, trailing by as much as 30. They tried to play catchup to in the beginning of the final quarter and managed to cut the Highlanders' lead to 20 points. But they ran out of time and Eureka Springs took the victory, 56-36.
JM Gregg lead the Highlanders with 23 points. Scoring for the Bulldogs were Lee with 15, Owens with 11, Taylor Haisman with 7, Guadarrama with 2 and Bingham with 1.
Ealier in the week, the Decatur Bulldogs were on the road taking on the St. Paul Saints (Jan. 30) and the Omaha Eagles (Jan. 31).
Coming off a win Jan. 27 against the Saints at Peterson Gym, the Bulldogs traveled to St. Paul to play a rescheduled game from Jan. 6. It was a close contest but the Bulldogs prevailed, taking the victory, 60-55.
Scoring for Decatur in the St. Paul game were Haisman with 17, Owens and Bingham each with 13, Lee with 10, Guadarrama with 4, and Porter with 3.
In the Omaha contest, the first quarter was a dead heat and both teams tied at 14. The Eagles rallied midway through the second quarter and outscored the Bulldogs, 25-2, to take a commanding 39-16 lead going into the halftime break. Omaha continued to build its lead throughout the second half and took the win, 69-44.
Leading the scoring for Decatur in the Omaha contest were Haisman with 13, followed by Lee with 12, and Owens with 7. Other scoring included Guadarrama and Levi Newman each with 4, followed by Porter and Ryan Ross each with 2.
The Decatur Bulldogs play their final contest of the regular season Feb. 10 when they travel south to take on the Mulberry Yellowjackets. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m., after the girls' game.
Sports on 02/08/2017