FAYETTEVILLE -- The Decatur Bulldogs continued their long losing streak Jan. 29 with yet another defeat, this time at the hands of the Haas Hall Mastiffs in Fayetteville.
Haas Hall, whose home gym is at Fayetteville Christian Academy, came out scrapping in the first quarter when the Mastiffs' center Collin McCabe picked up a pass from Thomas Leonard under the basket and hit a layup for the first field goal of the contest. The Bulldogs' Ryan Ross answered on the next play with a layup for Decatur's first points. The Mastiffs jumped out in front of the Bulldogs by the end of the quarter, leading by six.
The Bulldogs were unable to make up any ground on the scoreboard in the second quarter as both teams landed 11 points each. Haas Hall went into the dressing room at halftime still leading by six.
Decatur tried stepping up its offense in the second half, but the Mastiffs had other ideas. Haas Hall began building on its lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs, 14-11, and extending its lead to nine going into the final eight minutes of the contest.
The Bulldogs tried fighting back in the final quarter and closed the gap to within three with two minutes left. But Haas Hall stopped the Bulldogs' drive cold and regained the points Decatur had shaved off of its lead. The Haas Hall Mastiffs held on to take the conference win, 51-43, over the Decatur Bulldogs.
Leading the scoring effort for the Decatur Bulldogs were Conner Sutton with 16 and Bryson Funk with 12. Others contributing points were Tafari James with seven, Cayden Bingham and Ryan Ross each with three, and Jose Rubi with two.
In the second contest of the week, the Bulldogs traveled to Flippin Feb. 1, squaring off against the Flippin Bobcats in the final conference showdown of the 2018-19 season. Like the Haas Hall game three days earlier, the Bulldogs were overwhelmed and lost once again, this time by 29 points.
Decatur fell behind early, scoring only four points on a pair of field goals by Conner Sutton. The Bobcats' offense hit eight field goals and a free throw to take a 17-4 lead going into the second quarter. The Bulldogs tried to get back into the contest in the second quarter but were unable to catch up, falling further behind by the end of the half.
Flippin continued to dominate the contest, holding Decatur in the single digits in the third and fourth quarters. When the final buzzer sounded, the Flippin Bobcats claimed the victory, 62-33, over the Decatur Bulldogs.
Leading the way with seven points each for the Bulldogs were Ryan Ross and Conner Sutton. Jimmy Mendoza, Tafari James, Jose Rubi and Cayden Bingham each had four points. Kelvin Moreno finished the contest with a three-point field goal in the final minute of the contest.
The Bulldogs return to Peterson Gym in Decatur for the final game of 2018-19 regular season. It will be senior night as Bulldogs fans bid farewell to Cayden Bingham, Jimmy Mendoza and Ryan Ross. Game time will be at the conclusion of the Lady Bulldog contest.
Sports on 02/06/2019