BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s boys’ varsity basketball team had a wild ride over the last week with a heartbreaking loss to Bayside South rival Wicomico last week and a huge fourth-quarter comeback against Crisfield on Tuesday and nearly everything in between.
The Seahawks stacked several games in a short period of time last week thanks in part to a couple of makeup games from the major winter storm earlier this month. The Decatur boys beat Mardela, 75-52, last Monday to start the sequence, followed by a gut-wrenching loss to unbeaten Bayside South rival Wicomico, 76-74, last Wednesday.
The Seahawks took a three-year, 29-game home win streak into the game against Wicomico and the game was hyped since the season began. Decatur jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, but the Indians got the offense cranked up and led, 25-14 after the first quarter. Decatur’s Kevon Voyles, who finished the game with 26 points, knocked down a three-pointer at the end of the first to join the 1,000th career point club.
Decatur rebounded somewhat in the second quarter and cut the Wicomico lead to 38-29 at halftime. The big home crowd was on their feet for much of the first half, and with the Wicomico lead at just nine points at the intermission, nobody was going anywhere. They weren’t disappointed. The Seahawks made the appropriate adjustments at halftime and used an 11-0 run in the third quarter to take a 51-46 lead about halfway through the period.
The two teams went back and forth through the fourth quarter with neither gaining much of an advantage. Decatur led 64-59 with just over three minutes remaining in the third, but Wicomico had one more run to take a 76-72 lead with time running out. Decatur’s Churchill Bounds made a layup with three seconds remaining to cut the lead to 76-74.
The Seahawks got a break when Wicomico’s ensuing inbound pass hit the backboard, giving Decatur one last shot. The Seahawks’ inbound pass went to Voyles, whose last second desperation shot bounced off the front of the rim. Wicomico grabbed the rebound and held on for the dramatic 76-74 win.
The Indians’ win was 795th for legendary Wicomico Coach Butch Waller, making him the winningest active coach in Maryland public school basketball. So the game featured the 1,000th career point for Voyles and Waller’s 795th career win, several lead changes and a dramatic finish. With the win, Wicomico improved to 9-0 and tightened its strangle-hold on the Bayside South title. The loss was the first in a conference game for the Seahawks, which will get another shot at Wicomico on the road on February 8.
There was no rest for Decatur, which had another game the very next day against Worcester County rival Pocomoke. The Seahawks cruised past the Warriors, 81-65, to quickly erase the sting of the Wicomico loss a day earlier. It was the second win of the season against Pocomoke for Decatur, which beat the Warriors, 94-59, back on December 12.
Decatur was back in action on Tuesday on the road against Crisfield and the drama continued. The Seahawks trailed most of the game and was behind by 13 points at the start of the fourth quarter before going on a big run to close out the 53-52 win. With the win, Decatur improved to 9-3 overall and, more importantly, 8-1, in the Bayside South with another grudge match with Wicomico still looming.
