Bulldogs Manage To Avenge Only League Defeat

Photo by Randy Moll -- Decatur senior forward Andrew Harris breaks away from Hartford's Brody Funk and puts the ball up for two during play on Friday night at Decatur High School.
Photo by Randy Moll -- Decatur senior forward Andrew Harris breaks away from Hartford's Brody Funk and puts the ball up for two during play on Friday night at Decatur High School.

— Revenge was a little bit harder to achieve than Decatur’s boys thought it might be Friday night against Hartford.

DECATUR 27, HARTFORD 26

Hartford 13 4 2 7 — 26

Decatur 17 4 2 4 — 27

Hartford (2-16, 1-9): Bumpas 8, Blanchard 7, Collins 7, Layne 2, Eveld 2.

Decatur (16-5, 9-1): M. Urquidi 9, V. Urquidi 7, Harris 5, Owens 3, Pitcher 3.

Decatur 39

Hartford 22

GIRLS — Decatur scored the game’s first seven points and cruised from there to post an easy victory over winless Hartford.

Sarah Harris had 12 points to lead Decatur (4-15, 2-8), which led by a 34-8 margin after three quarters en route to doubling its win total from last season. Lindsey Patterson had 10 points for Hartford (0-18, 0-10).

DECATUR 39, HARTFORD 22

Hartford 2 4 2 14 — 22

Decatur 9 14 11 5 — 39

Hartford (0-18, 0-10): Peterson 10, Lanman 7, Gentry 3, Chappell 2.

Decatur (4-15, 2-8): Harris 12, Ramsey 9, Frost 6, Witcher 4, Jackson 3, Yang 2, Barrett 2, Brenes 1.

The Bulldogs went more than 15 minutes without a field goal and managed only 10 points over the final three quarters, but held off the Hustlers enough to claim a 27-26 victory in a 2A-4 West Conference basketball game in Lloyd Peterson Gymnasium.

A 12-0 run in the first quarter was enough to help Decatur (16-5, 9-1) take the lead, and the Bulldogs’ defense held Hartford in check just enough to make up for their only league loss. The Hustlers’ Korey Eveld tried to tie the game at the buzzer when he grabbed an offensive rebound and banked in a shot, but he was well inside the 3-point line.

“We didn’t play good,” Decatur coach John Unger said. “We didn’t play well offensively, and Hartford did a good job of putting the pressure on us.

“I was disappointed with how we came out and played. Offensively, we didn’t execute at all — just jacking up shots. That’s the things we’re going to work on next week if we’re going to make a deep run at the playoffs.”

Andrew Harris had a three-point play and a dunk during Decatur’s early run, which turned a six-point deficit into a 17-11 lead on Victor Urquidi’s running jumper. Mario Urquidi’s dunk with 4 minutes, 56 seconds left in the second quarter gave the Bulldogs a 19-13 cushion, but that was their last bucket until Mario Urquidi’s putback off a missed free throw with 5:29 remaining.

Hartford (2-16, 1-9) struggled with its offense just as much through the second and third quarters as each team managed just six points during that time. The Hustlers then cut it to 23-22 on Ray Blanchard’s free throw at the 5:47 mark, but missed a chance to tie when he missed the second try from the line.

“They made one more play than we did, and we missed from free throws,” Hartford coach Ronnie Denton said. “We have to find a remedy to score. We didn’t shoot the ball well, which is expected on the road, but usually we shoot a little better.”

Mario Urquidi had nine points and Victor Urquidi seven for Decatur. Conor Bumpus paced Hartford with eight, followed by Blanchard with seven.

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