(Feb. 22, 2013) The Stephen Decatur boys’ basketball team wrapped up regular-season competition last week with an eight-point loss to the Indian River Indians. There’s no time to dwell, though, as the 12-10 Seahawks gear up for the first round of 3A East Regional tournament action Tuesday.
“We went from playing a really good game to playing a really poor game. We were flat and every loose ball they came up with. [Indian River] was quicker than us that night,” Decatur Coach Mark Engle said of his team’s 77-69 loss on the road last Saturday. “We had two bad quarters and a number of turnovers. We had some trouble handling their man-to-man defense and they out-rebounded us in a big way.
“We kind of fell apart and didn’t play smart,” he said.
Decatur gained a 17-8 advantage by the end of the first quarter, but the home team tallied 26 points in the second and held the Seahawks to 10, to lead 34-27 at halftime.
The Berlin squad put 24 points on the board in the third quarter, while the Indians netted 16 to pull ahead 51-50.
Indian River secured the victory in the final quarter, outscoring Decatur 27-18.
Junior Tyler Hunter led Decatur with 21 points and seven rebounds. Senior captain Dimir Andrews had 15 points and four steals.
Two days earlier, on Feb. 14, the Seahawks traveled to Salisbury to battle the Parkside Rams and came home with a 59-50 win. They led 20-16 at the end of the first quarter and 33-26 at halftime. Both teams scored 13 points in the third quarter, but Decatur outscored Parkside 13-11 in the fourth.
“It was one of our more well-played games of the year,” Engle said. “We controlled the game from start to finish. It was a really good win for us.”
Senior captain Jesse Engle logged 27 points and seven assists. Junior PJ Copes chipped in with 12 points.
The Seahawks finished the season 12-10. The four teams with the best records in the 3A East Region were seeded and the remaining squads received their bracket placement by random draw. Decatur landed in the No. 10 spot and will play the No. 7 Centennial Eagles on Tuesday in Ellicott City in first-round action.
“We need to rebound better and control the tempo of the game. We can’t control the tempo if we don’t control our turnovers,” Engle said.
