Second half slump dooms Bulldogs
DECATUR — After a big conference win over the Cotter Warriors on Jan. 8, the Decatur Bulldogs were set to repeat their performance as they played host to the Alpena Leopards on Jan. 12. But the Bulldogs would face disappointment after a scoring slump late in the game gave the Leopards the conference win by 23.
The last time Decatur and Alpena met was in the 1A Northwest district tournament in February 2018. With the restructuring of conferences by the Arkansas Activities Association in May of 2020, Alpena was bumped up to the 2A-1 conference, of which Decatur has been a part since November 2018. The 2020-21 season was primed and ready to rekindle a familiar rivalry between the Bulldogs and the Leopards.
Alpena opened the contest with Nicholas Stone hitting a three-point field goal for the first points of the night. A field goal one minute later gave the Leopards a 5-0 advantage in the first quarter. Another minute later, the Bulldogs scored on a Christian Ramirez field goal, cutting the Alpena lead to three. With 90 seconds left in the quarter, the Bulldogs were down by six but went on a run and, with 25 seconds left, pulled to within one point of the Leopards.
Still down by one with seven seconds left, Bryson Funk took a shot from three-point land near the top of the key. His shot missed but Deegan Brooks picked up the rebound and, with less than a second left, put up a jumper that hit its mark, giving the Bulldogs the lead for the first time, 15-14, going into the second quarter.
With four minutes left in the first half, Decatur pulled out in front by six. Alpena tried to cut into Decatur’s lead but to no avail and the Bulldogs still led by six as time expired in the second quarter.
Decatur continued to dominate Alpena throughout most of the third quarter, but a late run by the Leopards tied the contest at 33 with 47 seconds left in the quarter. Suddenly, the Decatur offensive game plan stalled, allowing Alpena to take the lead, 37-33, at the end of three.
Alpena began pulling away from Decatur in the final eight minutes of the contest and, at the halfway mark, the Leopards had held the Bulldogs to only two points while going on a 15 point run. Decatur, after playing a strong first half, consistently missed shot after shot, and the Alpena Leopards extended their lead to 23 at the final buzzer, taking the conference victory, 62-39, over the Decatur Bulldogs.
Leading the way in double figures for Decatur was Kevin Garcia with 14 points. Other Bulldogs contributing to the offensive effort included Ramirez and Trevor Girdner each with five, Carlos Hernandez and Enrique Rubi each with four, Funk, Brooks and Edgar Herrera each with two, and JJ Herrera with one.
On the Alpena side, two players were in double figures, which included Kelbe Hicks with 20 and Bryce Martin with 18. Stone had eight points, followed by Cody Block with six, Landon Savage and Barron Ohler each with five.
In the junior high boys’ contest played prior to the varsity contest, a series of runs in the second half gave Alpena the victory, 39-24, over Decatur.
Alpena had one player in double figures for that contest. Keeton Talivor had 21 points, followed by Brandon Adams with eight, Tuck Savage with five, Slade Harp with three and Dylan Adams with two.
Brian Ruiz continued to lead the junior high Bulldogs in the scoring department with eight, followed by Devin Thor with six, Jayden Gonzales with five, Anderson Almengor and Dayton McGarrah each with two, and Brandon Montano with one.