(March 1, 2013) After a three-hour trip to Centennial High School in Ellicott City on Tuesday, the Stephen Decatur boys’ basketball team just couldn’t get into a rhythm. The Seahawks fell to the Centennial Eagles 53-37 in first-round action of the 3A East Regional tournament.
“It was hard after a long bus ride and we got down 10 right away. We fell behind 12-2 and we just could never get over the hump,” said Decatur Coach Mark Engle. “You get down and you’re in a dogfight, and we were in a dogfight the whole night.”
The seventh-seeded Eagles went on an 8-0 run to start the first quarter and led 18-6 after eight minutes. The No. 10 Seahawks outscored their opponent 11-5 in the second quarter to trail 23-17 at the halftime break.
Centennial had pulled ahead 40-28 by the end of the third quarter and tacked on 13 points in the fourth, while Decatur netted nine.
“They really controlled the tempo. We had trouble scoring and we struggle with turnovers, and we didn’t rebound super well,” Engle said. “But, the kids worked hard and they never gave up.”
Junior Tyler Hunter led Decatur with 22 points and six rebounds. Senior captain Jesse Engle had 10 points and eight assists.
The Seahawks finished the season 12-11. Three players — Engle, captain Dimir Andrews and Collin Macomber — will graduate in May.
“We battled some injuries, but all things considered, we had a nice year,” Coach Engle said. “The kids were just great to work with. I look forward to the future and the younger kids coming up.”
