Pioneers prevail, snap Bulldog winning streak
GENTRY — The Decatur Bulldogs senior boys’ basketball team hoped to make it three victories in a row Nov. 20 when they traveled to Gentry to face the Pioneers in the gym at Gentry High School. But the third victory eluded the Bulldogs as an aggressive Pioneer team overwhelmed Decatur’s offense and defense to take the victory.
The Bulldogs’ two straight victories came Nov. 14 when they faced the Watts Engineers on the road and Nov. 17 when they faced the Exeter Tigers at home.
The Pioneers came off of a crushing defeat against the Huntsville Tigers Nov. 17, losing by 21 points in the Pioneers’ first conference matchup of the season.
Gentry quickly established its dominance in the first two minutes of the first quarter, holding the Bulldogs scoreless while amassing a four-point lead. Halfway through the quarter, Decatur’s defense and offense finally began sinking shots, putting eight points on the scoreboard and pulling within three points by the end of the quarter, 13-8. This would be as close as the Bulldogs would come to Gentry during the remainder of the contest.
The Pioneers held the Bulldogs to only two points in the second quarter, while extending their lead by 20 points, 30-10, by halftime.
Decatur managed a combined 26 points in the second half, but that was of little help as the Gentry Pioneers walked away with the victory, 59-36, over the Decatur Bulldogs.
Leading scorers for the Decatur Bulldogs were Taylor Haisman with 10 points and one rebound, followed by Garry Woods with eight points and six rebounds. Ryan Ross had five points and one rebound. Joseph Armstrong also had five points with two rebounds. Rounding out the scoring effort was Cayden Bingham, with four points and three rebounds, Levi Newman and Jose Rubi each had two points.
Leading the scoring drive for the Gentry Pioneers were Logan Linton with 19 points, followed by Dylan Kilgore with 16. Other Pioneer scorers included Ethan Hammond with eight, Christian Waddell with six, Casey Bates and Bryant Rector each with four, and Brian Magana with two.
The Decatur Bulldogs will play host to the 2017 Decatur Holiday Hoops Classic basketball tournament at Peterson Gym in Decatur beginning Nov. 27 and ending with the championship and consolation Dec. 2. For more information, go to decatursd.com or contact the high school office at 479752-3983.
For more information on the Gentry Pioneers boys’ basketball schedule, go to www.gentrypioneers.com/ athletics.