2nd-half Collapse Dooms Decatur Boys

Decatur coach Charlie Copp kept his team in the locker room 20 minutes after Tuesday’s 59-34 loss to eighth-ranked Cedar Grove, a game featuring one of the all-time second-half meltdowns.

He emerged appearing as drained and frustrated as he’s been all season.

“We turned the ball over too much,” he said tersely, “and we took too many quick shots which are just as bad as turnovers.”

The final margin in no way hints that for the for first 16 minutes this was as exciting a game Decatur’s played all year. The first half featured five lead changes, two ties, and when Kendall Ford hit a pair of free throws with 37.8 seconds remaining Decatur led 24-22.

The Bulldogs seemed to do everything right. Switching to a 1-3-1 zone midway through the first quarter they muted Cedar Grove’s offensive explosiveness while handling the home team’s 1-2-1-1 press (and sometimes a man-to-man press) with efficiency, often getting easy baskets.

Further, several younger players including juniors Tyler Axam and Noah Fisher, along with sophomore Devontae Carter injected some much-needed adrenaline into Decatur’s attack.

But if one believes in dire omens like black cats and hovering ladders, then you can add Brandon Norwood’s deep-corner three with four seconds left to the mix.

That not only gave Cedar Grove a 25-24 halftime lead, it triggered an inexplicable 21-0 run for the home team over the next 6:20. 

Decatur committed 18 turnovers in the game, which isn’t necessarily surprising given that Cedar Grove averages nearly 12 steals per game. But 12 of Decatur’s turnovers came in the second half, and six during that particular stretch. 

One sequence remains especially vivid. Sophomore and leading scorer Christopher Frederick hit a three with 5:55 left in the third giving his team a 30-24 lead. Moments later he hit two free throws, then at 3:32 he hit a difficult one-hand runner from 14 feet to give him seven consecutive points.

If the blade wasn’t sharp enough, at 1:45 he thrust it even deeper with another three to cap the 21 straight points, and the Saints led 43-24.

Frederick finished with 12 points, his average on the nose, with 10 of those coming during that third-quarter avalanche.

But Cedar Grove was led in scoring by 6-4 freshman Jacara Cross, who had 13 points, and who absolutely owned the boards along with 6-5 sophomore Devin Thurmond. Yet another sophomore, 6-2 guard Kenneth Lewis, was held to six points though he may ultimately prove the best of this talented young squad (he scored 23 against Decatur last month).

Overall, 10 players scored for Cedar Grove.

Coach James Martin stuck with the 1-2-1-1 in the second half, but with much better results, forcing Decatur down the sidelines, often trapping in the corner when Decatur got a step for two past midcourt.

When the Bulldogs did break the press they mostly forgot they had a half-court offense to run.

“We settled for quick jumpers,” Copp said, “and we never reversed the ball. We’re in a region with a lot of great coaches, like Coach Martin, and we see everyone else reversing the ball, playing with patience and making the defense shift. But we have a lot of problems doing it ourselves.”

Decatur is now 14-10 and 5-8, tied for fifth in Region 6-AAA with McNair, which barely lost to St. Pius X 40-38 on Tuesday. A win against Towers in Friday’s regular-season finale would assure Decatur of fifth place (since it’s beaten McNair twice) and an opening round tournament-game against fourth-place Blessed Trinity.

Cedar Grove, meanwhile, remains in second, a game back of first place Woodward (ranked sixth in the state) at 20-4 and 11-2.

In Tuesday’s first game, Decatur’s girls (18-6, 11-2) easily dispatched Cedar Grove 59-24. Villanova-bound Jordan Dillard had a whale of a night with 26 points, seven steals, five assists and five rebounds. Freshman point guard Jayla Morrow added 10 points and three assists.

The Lady Bulldogs have sewed up a second seed in next week’s regional tournament and will earn a first-round bye.

Friday is Senior Night at the Decatur High Arena, the girls playing at 5:30 p.m., the boy’s at 7 p.m.