DECATUR -- After two straight losses in the Decatur Holiday Hoops Basketball tournament on Nov. 26 and 27, the Decatur Bulldogs regrouped to open their conference season Dec. 4 against the Fayetteville Haas Hall Mastiffs at Peterson Gym in Decatur. Though the Bulldogs staged a run to cut the Mastiffs' lead to three in the final 30 seconds of the contest, a free throw sealed the game with the Mastiffs prevailing by four.
Decatur got off to a fast start, putting up a quick two-point shot to take the early lead. But a three-pointer and a pair of free throws gave the Mastiffs their first lead by two halfway through the first quarter. And, from there, Haas Hall went on a run, outscoring Decatur, 12-6, to lead by six going into the second quarter.
The Bulldogs came back early in the second and eventually regained the lead and extended it through the remainder of the quarter, scoring 18 total points and holding the Mastiffs to nine. By the end of the first half, the Bulldogs held a slim three-point lead, 28-25.
In the second half, the Mastiffs battled back and overtook the Bulldogs late in the third quarter and began a run that left Decatur as much as 10 points behind at the beginning of the final quarter.
As the fourth quarter began, the Bulldogs came alive and fought back to within three with 12.8 seconds left in the contest. With the possession going to Decatur, a simple three point shot would tie the game, sending it into overtime and giving the Bulldogs a chance at its first conference win of the season. But it was not to be for the Bulldogs. The Mastiffs were able to hit a free throw with only three seconds left and put the contest out of reach. Haas Hall pulled off its first conference win, defeating the Decatur Bulldogs, 49-45.
Leading the scoring drive for the Decatur Bulldogs was Ryan Ross with 18, followed by Kevin Garcia with 12, Jimmy Mendoza with five, Kelvin Moreno with three, Jose Rubi with two. Returning to the Bulldog lineup after a serious injury during the eight-man football season was Bryson Funk who hit a free throw for his first point of the season.
The Bulldogs traveled to Cotter to take on, for the first time, the Cotter Warriors in the second conference matchup of the week.
The Bulldogs were able to keep pace with the Warriors during much of the first quarter, falling behind by only two going into the second. But the second quarter proved to be the Bulldogs undoing, as the Warriors went on a 16-8 run to widen the lead to 10 going into the break.
The Decatur Bulldogs managed to cut the lead down by two in the second half. When the buzzer sounded, ending the contest, the Cotter Warriors claimed the win, 47-39, over the Decatur Bulldogs.
Leading scorer for the fourth straight game was Ryan Ross with 20, followed by Jose Rubi with six, Tafari James with five, Cayden Bingham with four and Kevin Garcia with two.
Sports on 12/12/2018