Bulldogs squeak past Mastiffs in overtime win
FAYETTEVILLE — Decatur Bulldog fans who made the hour-long trip to east Fayetteville Dec. 10 got their money’s worth when Decatur, trailing by as much as 10 throughout the first three quarters, tied the contest in the last three minutes of regulation. The Bulldogs come-frombehind victory in overtime was the perfect way to begin the conference season, winning by five points.
Decatur began the 2A Region 1 conference game against the Haas Hall (Fayetteville) Mastiffs at Fayetteville Christian.
For the Bulldogs, this game was more like the classic struggle between Samson and Goliath since the Mastiffs had five players over 6-foot, 2-inches (three players at 6-foot, 4 inches, a player at 6-foot, 3 inches and a player standing at 6-foot, 7-inches). This gave Haas Hall a clear advantage since most of Decatur’s players are 6-foot, 2-inches and under, with the exception of two, Tafari James who is 6-foot, 3-inches and Trevor Girdner who stands at 6-foot, 4-inches. The game became a battle of height versus speed.
The Bulldogs gained control of the opening tipoff, driving the ball towards the Decatur basket where Kevin Garcia went up for a shot and was fouled. He hit his first free throw but missed the second, giving Decatur its first lead of the night. Decatur held Haas Hall scoreless until the fourminute mark when the Mastiffs hit a three-point field goal, putting Haas Hall up by two. The Mastiffs defense limited the Bulldog offense to a pair of field goals toward the end of the first quarter while hitting two field goals and a three, giving them a 10-5 advantage going into the second quarter.
Decatur tried to play catch up during the second quarter but was not quite able to eat into the Haas Hall deficit. The first half ended with the Mastiffs firmly in control of the contest, leading by eight going into the break.
The third quarter was mostly a defensive game with neither team able to score much on the other. Decatur held a slim 7-6 point advantage over Haas Hall for the quarter but still trailed by seven going into the final eight minutes of the contest.
One minute into the final quarter the Bulldog offense came alive behind the leadership of sophomore Kevin Garcia and senior Bryson Funk. Three field goals by Garcia coupled with a three and two free throws by Funk pulled the Bulldogs to within three points of the Mastiffs with four minutes remaining.
With 20 seconds left in the game and the Bulldogs down by two, it looked as though Haas Hall was going to win the contest when Garcia hit another field goal to tie the game at 45 all with 16 seconds remaining.
Both defenses held fast and the game ended at a 45-45 tie, sending it into a four-minute overtime.
This was Decatur’s time to shine, and a three by Funk put them ahead with three minutes left. Haas Hall senior Jackson Wisdom hit a field goal and was fouled on the floor for two free throws. He missed the first one but nailed the second as the Mastiffs tied the game at 48 all.
The contest came down to free throws. Garcia hit two crucial free throws, putting the Bulldogs ahead by two with less than a minute remaining in overtime. Christian Ramirez landed one free throw while Tafari James free throws put the icing on the cake, putting the Bulldogs up by four. Time ran out on the Mastiffs, giving the Decatur Bulldogs their first conference win of the 2019-20 season, 52-48 over Haas Hall.
Leading the Bulldogs scoring drive was Kevin Garcia with 21 points, followed by Bryson Funk with 15, including three three-point field goals. Rounding out the scoring effort was Christian Ramirez with five, Tafari James and Sam Philpott each with three, Adam Garcia with two and Edger Herrera with one.