Decatur Girls Remain Unbeaten; Boys Lose

Blessed Trinity used an ever-constricting 2-3 zone defense to choke Decatur’s boys 44-33 in the opening Region 6-AA game for both teams Friday at Blessed Trinity.

Despite getting better ball movement and more shots in the second half, the Bulldogs couldn’t overcome seven first-half points and 27 percent shooting from the field overall, including 3 for 18 (17 percent) from three-point land.

Meantime, Decatur’s girls roared out to a 30-2 first quarter lead in whipping Blessed Trinity 76-37. Senior Queen Alford turned in a dominant performance getting 30 points, 11 rebounds and possibly a school-record 13 steals.

Junior Jordan Dillard added 24 points and six rebounds. The 5-0 Decatur girls remain unranked only because no Coaches poll came out this week. When the new poll’s released Tuesday, Decatur will likely become the fourth Region 6-AA team in the state’s top 10.

Decatur’s boys never led Friday, and didn’t even get a shot off in its first six possessions. Leading scorer Kurt Robinson, hobbled by a sprained ankle which he turned once again late in the game, had only seven points and was clearly not himself.

Decatur coach Charlie Copp said he’s “day to day,” and it’s uncertain if the senior point guard will play in either of next week’s games. 

Decatur cut it to 27-21 with 3:01 left in the third, and seconds later Desmond Tuft missed an open three that could’ve sliced it further.

Two minutes into the fourth quarter the Bulldogs missed another golden opportunity when, trailing by 10, Blessed’s Sean Damaska was whistled for a technical. Tuft missed both foul shots, and on the subsequent possession Murad Dillard was called for walking.

Blessed, 4-1, was led by sophomore guards Patrick Lamar and Nick Romero who had 17 and 10 points respectively.

Brett Riley led Decatur with 10 points and could’ve had more considering he did a fine job establishing low-post position, particularly in the second half. But as Copp said, “Our guards just don’t have the patience right now to look for [Riley]. We need to get the ball inside more effectively, especially on nights like tonight when our shooting was so poor.”

The boys, 3-2, play Lovett at home Tuesday in a 7 p.m. tipoff, with the girls playing at 5:30. The Lovett girls are currently ranked sixth in the state.