DECATUR -- It was a long and tough road for the Decatur senior boys' basketball team as they ended the 2015-16 season with a loss to the Union Christian Eagles in the second round of the 2A 4West District tournament at Peterson Gym in Decatur on Feb. 18.
The boys bracket began Feb 17 when Number 5 seed Decatur took on the Number 8 seed Hartford Hustlers. The Bulldogs dominated the Hustlers throughout the regular season, winning both games by as much as 15 points. This contest would be no different.
The Bulldogs were the first to score just a little over a minute into the first quarter. Midway through, Taylor Haisman put up two back-to-back three-point shots to extend the lead to eight. In the second quarter, the Bulldogs scored 10 points to the Hustlers 7 to take a 23-17 lead at the half. Decatur picked up the pace in the third quarter on another pair of three pointers by Haisman. The Bulldogs effectively shut down the Hustlers offense, only allowing seven points in the third and increasing their lead to 11 going into the fourth quarter. And the final eight minutes were all Bulldogs as they went on a 16-7 run to eliminate the Hartford Hustlers from the district tournament by the score of 51 to 21.
Haisman had one of his best games of the season making six three-point shots against a stunned Hartford team.
Leading scorers for the Decatur Bulldogs were Haisman with 20, Jay Porter with 11, Troy Flood and Leng Lee each with 7, followed by Bracy Owens, Tyler Riddle and Kyle Shaffer, each with 2.
Union Christian 41
Decatur 34
In the final meeting between the Bulldogs and the Eagles -- Union Christian will go to a different conference next season -- Union Christian was the first to score and took a 10-7 advantage over the Bulldogs at the end of the opening quarter. The Eagles picked up the pace and outscored the Bulldogs to take a 24-16 lead into the break.
In the second half, Decatur narrowed the gap to seven, 34 to 27, and then to within five at the 2:41 mark in the final quarter; but several missed scoring opportunities on turnover cost the Decatur the game. Union Christian advanced to the semifinal round, defeating the Bulldogs, 42 to 34.
Leading scorers for the Decatur Bulldogs were Kyle Shaffer and Taylor Haisman with 9, Jay Porter and Bracy Owens with 6. Others Bulldogs scoring points were Leng Lee with 3 and Troy Flood with 2.
The Bulldogs finish its 2015-16 season with a 9 and 19 overall and a 5 and 9 conference record.
"I feel like this season was a success. We improved so much from week one to the last game in the district tournament," said John Unger, head basketball coach. "We wish we would have had the chance to go to regionals but we will use the setback as an opportunity to improve for next season and motivation to keep striving to be the best."
This was the last time Decatur will play in the 2A conference. The Bulldogs will be changing conferences next season to the 1A conference and playing Lead Hill, Kingston, Omaha, St. Paul.
Unger looks forward to a promising season in the new conference in the fall and remembers all his players who contributed to a successful 2015-16 season.
"Kyle Shaffer, Tyler Riddle, and Troy Flood really helped us this year. We will miss those seniors and they will always be a part of the Bulldog family," Unger said. "We look forward to watching the juniors, sophomores and freshman grow as basketball players, and we are excited about them all getting better for next season. We will get back to practicing soon and look to improve every player as much as possible through the spring and into the summer. We know that, if each individual improves, then the team will greatly improve."
Sports on 02/24/2016