Both of Decatur’s varsity basketball teams emerged from Westminster’s Holiday Classic Basketball Tournament battered, bruised and in dire need of five days off before their next game.
The two teams have six injured or sick players between them – two for the boys, four for the girls – none considered serious from a long-term perspective.
With their impressive 65-29 win over Bishop McGuinness Catholic out of Kernersville, N.C., Saturday, the boys took two out of three tournament games in finishing third out of eight teams.
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Point guard Kendall Ford started the game after spraining his right ankle Thursday and sitting out Friday’s 37-30 loss to Westminster (eventual tournament champions with a 50-34 win over Northview Saturday night). Ford was noticeably hobbled as he scored only three points and played sparingly.
Decatur’s other point guard, Adarius Lucas, who started the previous 11 games, didn’t play at all Saturday because of a concussion suffered against Westminster. His status remains unknown until he gets checked by a doctor this week.
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The girls, who began the week ranked fourth in MaxPreps.com’s AAA Georgia rankings, dropped two out of three and finished sixth.
But in losing to Johns Creek 61-43 Saturday afternoon, the Lady Bulldogs played without leading scorer and rebounder Jordan Dillard. Freshman point guard sensation Jayla Morrow did play and had nine points and four assists, though she has what’s being described as a “hamstring strain.”
Both coaches remain convinced the injuries are minor. Boys coach Charlie Copp said both Ford and Lucas should be “good to go” for Friday’s home game against Mt. Vernon Presbyterian.
On the girls side, Dillard has the flu and coach Bill Roberts believes she’ll be back in practice next week. Starting point guard Brianna Nixon has a twisted knee and forward Kori Anderson a sprained ankle and both may require more time.
Decatur will need to heal fast. After this week’s relative inactivity the Bulldogs begin one of their most intense stretches of the season with five games in nine days, including two back-to-backers.
They play at home against Mt. Vernon Presbyterian on Friday (the boys at 6 p.m., the girls at 7:30 p.m.), at home against Lovett the next day (the girls at 3 p.m., the boys at 4:30 p.m.), then resume regional competition at Cross Keys on Jan. 8, and at home against Cedar Grove and St. Pius X on Jan. 11 and 12 respectively.
In Saturday’s consolation game, after leading only 24-18 at intermission, the boys exploded for 31 third-quarter points in blowing out Bishop McGuinness. Decatur shot 60 percent from the floor, a far cry from the previous night’s 22 percent, and only five percent (1 for 19) in the first half.
Decatur pressed for most of the game, including the entire third-quarter avalanche. Copp said later this doesn’t necessarily mean the Bulldogs will utilize full-court pressure every game.
“It’ll always be situational,” he said, “depending on the opponent, and on what’s going on during the game. Tonight it’s what we needed to do and I liked what I saw.”
Cordele Jackson scored a career-high 21 points, and though he was the only Bulldog in double figures, he led an attack of 11 players who dented the scoreboard.
After missing nearly three weeks due to illness junior guard Tyler Axam scored seven and could prove a valuable addition in the season’s second half. Sophomores Devontae Carter, Nate Scully and Sam Berg added six, six and three points respectively. For Scully and Berg it was the first points of their varsity careers.
The girls game was also close for a half, the Lady Bulldogs trailing only 30-26 at intermission. But amidst a flurry of Decatur turnovers (33 for the entire game), Johns Creek extended its lead to 18 after with 65 percent shooting (9 of 14) in the third quarter. Johns Creek, attempting 72 shots from the floor, converted fewer than 30 percent of them in each of the other three quarters.
The brightest spot for Decatur was junior post Kris Munson who joined the team only a month ago and is still working herself into game shape. She had a season’s-high 12 points and six rebounds, while senior post Alana Johnson had seven points and a season’s-high 12 rebounds. Morrow scored seven of her nine points in the first half, but played very little afterwards because of her hamstring.
Both Decatur teams close the old year with an 8-4 record.
