Decatur Basketball at Maynard Jackson: Girls Win Easily, Boys Lose in the Final Minute

Maynard Jackson High took advantage of a fourth-quarter technical foul called on Decatur boys coach Charlie Copp in coming from behind to beat the Bulldogs 54-51 Friday.

“A bad move on my part,” Copp said after the game. “I told the ref to call it the same on both ends. I said it to one ref, then I said the same thing to a second ref, and that’s when he got me. The blame is all mine. That technical gave them momentum and sucked the life out of us.”

It didn’t help that the visiting Decatur Bulldogs had another dismal shooting effort, making only 32 percent of its shots from the field. Decatur has now shot 29 percent (46 of 157) in its last three games.

Decatur mostly did a fine job executing its offense, fast break and press break, consistently getting good mid-range jumpers and layups -- and just as consistently missing them. This was especially true in the second half when the Bulldogs shot 6 for 25 for 24 percent.

Meanwhile, Decatur’s girls (6-1) had no trouble finding the basket, ripping apart Maynard 77-11.

Queen Alford had 24 points, Jordan Dillard 15 and freshman Jahmee Alford Reeves (Queen’s sister) had a career-high 10. Junior newcomer Akilah Haynes, a transfer from Columbia High, had a whopping 10 steals.

The Decatur boys appeared to seize control, running off eight straight points in the first half’s final 3:48 to take a 29-21 halftime lead.

But Jackson, though it ran no discernible offense, controlled its own offensive boards all night. The home team’s Coris Williams, a wide-bodied 6-5 post, had over 20 rebounds, 14 of those offensive.

Allowing Jackson to repeatedly get second, third and fourth shots eventually caught up with the Bulldogs.

Decatur opened up a 46-36 lead, its largest, with 6:32 left in the game when Davante Meadows gave Kurt Robinson a slick high-low pass.

But with 6:08 left Jackson hit a three pointer cutting it to 46-39. Seconds later, Robinson was called for palming and Copp was whistled for his first technical this season.

In the final 5:55 following the technical Jackson outscored Decatur 15-5, but didn’t take the lead until Williams sank two free throws making it 52-51 with 49.4 seconds left.

Decatur, now 3-4 and losers of four straight, never led again.

Meadows led the Bulldogs with 10 points and 14 rebounds (best for any Bulldog this season), while Robinson, still hobbling visibly on his sprained ankle, had only nine points.

Decatur plays at McNair tonight, girls tip off at 5:30, boys at 7:00.