COAL HILL -- Bigelow sophomore Justin Testerman stopped Decatur cold Thursday.
Testerman scored 11 of his 13 points in the final six minutes of the game to help Bigelow to a 61-56 victory over Decatur in a first round-game at the Class 2A West Regional.
Class 2A West Regional
At Johnson County Westside, Coal Hill
Boys
Wednesday
Game 1: Eureka Springs 73, Hector 64
Game 2: St. Joseph 64, Johnson County Westside 48
Thursday
Game 3: Bigelow 61, Decatur 56
Game 4: Magazine vs. Western Yell County, 8:30 p.m.
Today
Game 5: Eureka Springs vs. Bigelow, 5:30 p.m.
Game 6: St. Joseph vs. Winner Game 4, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday
Game 7: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 1:30 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner 6, 7:30 p.m.
Girls
Wednesday
Game 1: Johnson County Westside 55, St. Joseph 40
Game 2: Hector 52, Magazine 34
Thursday
Game 3: Conway Christian 51, Hackett 37
Game 4: Mountainburg vs. Quitman, 7 p.m.
Today
Game 5: Johnson County Westside vs. Conway Christian, 4 p.m.
Game 6: Hector vs. Winner Game 4, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Game 7: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, noon
Game 8: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner 6, 6 p.m.
Class 2A West Regional
Boys
Bigelow 61, Decatur 56
Decatur^13^10^20^13^—^56
Bigelow^15^21^9^16^—^61
Decatur (20-9): V. Urquidi 21, M. Urquidi 17, Vang 12, Lee 4, Castaneda 2.
Bigelow (19-7): Pelham 14, Testerman 13, Nutt 13, Holt 8, Miller 4, Southerland 3, Rappold 2, Ball 2, Frye 2.
Bigelow (19-7) has won 12 of its last 13 games, and the win puts the Panthers into the Class 2A Tournament for the second straight year. Decatur ends the season at 20-9 after winning the 2A-4 West Conference championship.
Bigelow took a 13-point lead at halftime, but the No. 3 seed Bulldogs rallied to take a 52-51 lead with 2 minutes, 53 seconds left in the game on a running jumper by Victor Urquidi. But Testerman hit three-straight layups and his two free throws with 35.3 seconds left gave Bigelow a 59-52 lead.
Cody Pelham was a also in double figures for No. 2 seed Bigelow with 14 points while Joe Nutt added 13 for the Panthers.
"(Testerman) has been doing that for about three weeks," said Bigelow coach Craig Neumeier. "He played well in the district tournament, and he is a gamer. No matter what he plays, he is going to want to win. He is a great athlete."
Victor Urquidi finished with 21 points, while Mario Urquidi and Meng Vang were also in double figures with 17 and 12 points, respectively. Decatur made just two field goals over a span of 5:24 in the fourth quarter, and the Bulldogs were 5 of 13 from the free throw line in the second half.
"Bigelow executed on offense and we didn't," said Decatur coach John Unger. "We just didn't have enough down the stretch. Free throw shooting has been our Achilles Heel for three years. We can shoot 70 percent as a team in practice, but in a game, we are in the 20s. Too many turnovers. You can't win games like that at this level."
Bigelow's first seven possessions resulted in five missed shots and two turnovers, but the Panthers would make 15 of their next 17 shots from the field to take a 36-23 lead at halftime. A long 3-pointer by Pelham beat the halftime buzzer for the 13-point lead. The Panthers made 5 of 6 3-point attempts in the first half.
"We were wondering how we were going to get our hands off our throat," Neumeier said. "Once we did that, we got into a good flow.
Paul Nielsen can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAPaul.
Sports on 02/27/2015