Decatur falls to Hornets at Colcord Jamboree
COLCORD, Okla. — The Decatur Bulldog senior boys’ basketball team traveled to Colcord, Okla., to participate in the Colcord High School Basketball Jamboree at Hornet Arena in Colcord Dec.79. There the Bulldogs faced three worthy Oklahoma adversaries from Colcord, Salina and Westville.
In day one of the three-day event, the Bulldogs faced the host Colcord Hornets in a late evening contest.
The Hornets jumped out in front of the Bulldogs, 4-2, in the early going of the first quarter. Over the course of the next seven minutes, Colcord had expanded its lead by eight, 14-6. Late in the second quarter, the Bulldogs began a run. They were within two points when a technical foul was called on Decatur coach John Unger, effectively killing the Decatur momentum. With less than 10 seconds left in the first half, with Decatur trailing by five, Taylor Haisman drove to the left wing, pulled up and fired a three-point shot that hit its mark with less than one second left on the clock, putting the Bulldogs behind by two, 24-22, going into the break.
Early in the third quarter, the Bulldogs pulled ahead of the Hornets by three. But the Bulldog lead was short lived when, with less than four minutes remaining in the quarter, both of Colcord’s big players (one 6-foot-5 and the other 6-foot-4) hit a pair of two-pointers and a free throw to regain the lead. From that point on, the Colcord Hornets never gave up the lead again. The final score was 46-39, Colcord over Decatur.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the losing streak continued as they fell to the SalinaWildcats, 55-31, during the second day of the tournament, Dec. 8.
On day three of the jamboree, Decatur faced the Westville Yellowjackets. From the opening tipoff, the Bulldogs hit the floor running, taking control of the contest and the lead by the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Decatur let its guard down as a run by Westville gave the Yellowjackets a lead they kept to take a 13-12 advantage going into the break.
The Bulldogs came out of the locker room much more focused in the third quarter. A technical foul by a Westville player sent Levi Newman to the line. He sank both shots, giving Decatur an 18-14 lead going into the final quarter.
Things heated up midway through the final eight minutes of the contest when a Westville player intentionally shoved Decatur’s Taylor Haisman to the padding behind the goal. That same player tried to evoke Decatur’s Newman into an altercation. The officials stopped the contest to calm both teams down before it escalated. Once the dust settled, Westville earned its second technical of the game, sending Newman back to the free throw line. He hit both shots to increase the Bulldog lead.
With less than 30 seconds left, Westville tied Decatur at 22 all. The Bulldogs missed two opportunities to regain the lead, turning over control of the ball to the Yellowjackets with 2.5 seconds remaining on the clock. For the next three minutes, both Decatur and Westville each used their remaining timeouts to change strategies. Westville finally was able to inbound the ball with 1.5 seconds left in the contest. Decatur’s defense prevented Westville from getting off a shot until the clock hit 5 seconds and a Yellowjacket player put up a three-pointer from the right wing which hit its mark at the buzzer, giving the Westville Yellowjackets a 25-22 victory over the Decatur Bulldogs.