WCMessenger.com: Decatur boys whipped by Glen Rose, 81-46

WCMessenger.com Sports: Basketball Headlines

Decatur boys whipped by Glen Rose, 81-46

By Travis Measley | Published Sunday, March 1, 2009

Basketball is a fickle game. Some nights, the ball doesn't seem to find the hoop, it bounces the wrong way and the tough calls favor the opposition. On those nights, the other team seems to make every shot and get every break. The Decatur High School boys' basketball team faced one of those nights Thursday, running into a buzz saw against Glen Rose, falling to the Tigers 81-46 in the regional quarterfinals of the 3A playoffs.

The Tigers jumped out to an early 8-0 lead in the first few minutes of the first quarter, torching the Eagle defense inside, getting easy points in the paint off a series of rotating screens. The Eagles struggled on the offensive side of the ball early as well, turning it over twice on traveling violations and an air ball. Senior Jordan Rawle scored the Eagles' first points with five minutes left in the first, but the Tigers quickly pushed their lead to double digits in the second quarter.

Senior starters Jarrod Morris and Cade Isham sparked the Eagles' offense and defense in the second quarter after a timeout by Coach Roger Brown. As the Tigers cooled off, Morris and Isham heated up, scoring 14 of Decatur's 15 second-quarter points, while holding Glen Rose to nine points of their own in the second. Isham hit the most important basket in the half for the Eagles on a buzzer-beater tip-in off a missed three-pointer to cut the lead, which was as large as 14, to six heading into the break.

Starting the third quarter, 34-28, the momentum favored the Eagles. However, like in the first quarter, Glen Rose came out blazing. Point guards for the Tigers hit three straight three-pointers to start the half, taking much of the air out of the Eagles and stretching their lead quickly back up to 14. Isham did all he could to keep the Eagles in the game, scoring seven straight to close out the quarter, but the speed and hot hand of the Tiger guards did not allow the Eagles to get any closer than 10 for the remainder of the game.

With two minutes left in the fourth, down by 20, Brown pulled all the starting seniors, bringing the Decatur crowd to its feet, honoring the seniors in their last high school game.

Isham and Morris both finished with a team-high 17 points, and senior Brad Gamm had four points. Sophomore Ross Walker had three, and Rawle finished with two.