Hackett Halts Decatur's Winning Streak

— Hackett stuck to its game plan Thursday night.

The Hornets survived an early Decatur run and continued to slow the tempo to defeat the No. 1 seed Bulldogs 32-29 in the semifinals of the 2A-4 District Tournament.

2A-4 District Tournament

At Mountainburg

Boys

Thursday

Semifinals

Hackett 32, Decatur 29

Mountainburg vs. Magazine (n)

Saturday

Third Place Game

Decatur vs. Mountainburg-Magazine Loser, 5:30 p.m.

Championship Game

Hackett vs. Mountainburg-Magazine Winner, 8:30 p.m.

Hackett, the No. 4 seed, will face either Mountainburg or Magazine in Saturday's championship game. Those two teams played the late game Thursday night.

Decatur (20-6) saw its 13-game winning streak end when Mario Urquidi's 3-point attempt at the buzzer hit the front of the rim. Decatur will play the loser of Thursday's late game Saturday in the third-place game.

Hackett used a 9-0 run to end the first half for a 17-13 lead and it closed the third quarter with a 6-0 run for a 27-21 advantage.

'We got the tempo like we wanted and we slowed it down,' Hackett coach Jared Porter said. 'We maximized the possessions we had, and the kids played well. All the credit goes to the kids because they executed.

Tanner Sweeten led Hackett (14-13) with 12 points, while Colton Byers finished with seven points.

Avery Clay and Andrew Harris each had 10 points each for Decatur. Urquidi finished with two points, while Victor Urquidi also had two points. Victor Urquidi missed two free throws with 22.2 seconds left in the game and Decatur trailing 32-29.

'We didn't play with any passion or intensity,' Decatur coach John Unger said. 'We got off to an 8-0 run, but then we had three or four turnovers. That killed the momentum, and Hackett turned it on after that.'

Decatur made four of its first five field goal attempts for a quick 8-0 lead but the Hornets outscored the Bulldogs 17-5 over the next 11 minutes, 26 seconds for a 17-13 lead at halftime.

Buddy Nichols keyed a closing 9-0 Hackett run with six points and Jacob Brown's 3-pointer beat the halftime buzzer for the four point lead.

Clay scored six points in the third period for Decatur and his layup with 3:50 left tied the game at 21-21. But Hackett ended the third with a 6-0 run to take command.

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