Upset loss to Decatur ends Patriots season
There will be no championship run for the Bob Jones boy’s basketball team. After racking up a school-record 29 wins, the team had high hopes going into the playoffs. Led by a veteran senior class who tasted a state championship two years ago they wanted to make it to the regionals at Wallace State and then on to Birmingham and the Final Four.
Instead the season ended abruptly on their own court Friday night in the Area 15 Tournament to a Decatur team that finished last in the area but always seemed to play their best basketball against Bob Jones. Decatur led the game by 3 points at halftime and pulled away in the final minute to post a 56-50 upset.
The shots were not falling for Bob Jones and the poor shooting gave Decatur just enough of an opening to claim a spot in the Area 15 Championship game against city rival Austin that will be played oddly enough on Bob Jones home floor Monday night.
Decatur was led by their big man Darius Nelson who had a monster game with 22 points including 6 of 6 from the free throw line. He also dominated the boards with 12 rebounds.
The Patriots did not hit a 3-point shot all night, going 0-13 from behind the arc. Usually reliable Reggie Ragland missed 4 shots from behind the arc, Jeffrey Moss missed 3, and Tyler Davis and Travon Landry missed 2 each.
“The shooting percentage was just terrible,” said Bob Jones head coach Danny Petty. “Decatur played really well and it just wasn’t one of our better games. We didn’t execute when we had to. They contested our shots and we missed a lot of shots underneath and we weren’t hitting outside and they just packed it in on us. It was a physical game and we just couldn’t finish.”
Petty said that the Patriots played without starter Brandon Harris who sprained an ankle in practice this week and Jemel Harper got the start in his place.
“Jemel came in and did some good things tonight, but we didn’t execute when we needed to and Coach Lee had Decatur ready to play and we had trouble with Nelson all night.”
Bob Jones last lead of the game was 47-46 after Harper hit 2 free throws and then followed that up with a steal to give the Patriots possession and the lead.
After a timeout to settle his players down Petty told the players to spread out. Instead, “we took an ill-advised shot. I never felt confident even at that point,” Petty admitted.
Decatur’s Darius Nelson had a steal and his two free throws gave Decatur a lead they would not relinquish.
Bob Jones still had a last chance when Reggie Ragland got a steal but his shot bounced off and Decatur began to realize they had pulled off easily the biggest upset in the state. The large contingent of Decatur fans swarmed the court as the players congratulated each other after the game.
Decatur made a statement early on that this was not going to be like the two regular season losses they suffered to Bob Jones. The teams played even in the first quarter with the Patriots holding a 13-11 lead after one. The lead was short lived however as Nelson’s 3-point play put Decatur up 27-24. Poor shooting plagued Bob Jones as the Patriots shot only 9 for 25 from the field and missed all 7 three-pointers they took in the first half. Decatur had a 3 point lead at halftime.
Bob Jones leading scorer, Jeffrey Moss, had only 6 points at halftime and had hit only one shot from the field.
The halftime lead energized Decatur as Nelson called the players to a meeting just before taking the court in the third quarter. Decatur jumped out to their biggest lead of the night at 41-34 in the third quarter after Nelson’s three-point play.
Moss struck back with a slashing drive to the basket, then a steal and breakaway dunk to cut it to 41-38 after three quarters.
Moss finished with 17 points, right on his average. But Reggie Ragland could connect for only 6 points, well below his average of 15. Jemel Harper added 6 and Travon Landry had 14. Tyler Davis could not find the range and finished with 4 points.
“We just couldn’t find a way to get past the offense struggling,” Davis said.
“Defensively we did everything we were supposed to do. Coach Petty told us the whole year that if we didn’t execute offensively it would come back to get us. Tonight unfortunately it ended our season,” added Davis who is one of seven seniors on the Bob Jones team.
The Patriots had more than their share of comeback wins this season but when they needed it most they could not get the bounces.
“We had the lead in the fourth quarter but we just couldn’t get that one layup to roll in. Decatur came out and played hard. We had been hearing all week how they were ready for this game. We didn’t overlook them at all. I thought we came ready, they just beat us tonight,” Davis said.
Petty said that the shock of the loss seemed particularly hard on the seniors. “They are all disappointed to have such a great season like we had and for it to end this early. But they will move on. Some of them will play college ball,” said Petty preferring to look on the bright side.
Tonight however, there was only disappointment for everyone associated with Bob Jones; the fans, students, administrators, and most of all the players.
