Stedman Richardson's torrid offensive explosion and a highly harassing defense led the Decatur basketball team to within one game of a state tournament berth after the No. 3 state-ranked Gators defeated visiting Tahoma 65-51 in the first-ever hosting of a Class 4A West Central District III boys basketball tournament game at the Gator Dome.
With Tahoma concentrating its efforts on blocking off Marcus Tibbs in the district opener, the six foot, 3-inch Stedman was able to penetrate inside often and finish with a game high 20 points.
The 20-2 SPSL third-seeded Gators faced Bellarmine after press time on Saturday in the quarterfinals with a win guaranteeing Decatur a state tournament position.
"When they concentrated on Tibbs with the box-and-one zone they gave myself and (Darious) Walker the opportunity to pick up the scoring," said Richardson We and the others were ready to step up.On defense we just started denying the passing lanes and being more aggressive."
In the first quarter, Tahoma and Decatur fought evenly until the home team led, 16-14, after one quarter. Hot shooting from the Bears kept them close until the Gator trio of Walker, Michael Hale and Richardson turned a slim 22-21 second quarter edge into a halftime 35-25 lead on the strength of a 13-4 scoring blitz.
Tibbs scored a basket and Alex Lewis followed with a rebound basket to stretch the Decatur advantage to 39-25 early in the third quarter as Tahoma's shooting percentage dropped off.
Fighting back with short scoring spurts, the Bears bit into the big lead and closed within 42-36 before Trey Williams knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:06 remaining.
That shot ended Tahoma's last real threat. Throughout the remainder part of the match up, the Gator lead was never less than eight points and Decatur whipsawed its opponent mercilessly.
"At the start they (the Bears) were able to get some good shots," said Walker, who scored 13 points and hauled in 11 rebounds. "They came out with some new offense. Their trapping on the outside gave us the chance to go inside more. I was able to take more wide open shots. They let me shoot, thinking that I wasn't a shooter. I surprised them. I was able to wait until the ball was passed back to me for wide open shots."
For the game, Decatur had enough wide open shots to shoot 30-for-50 from the field. Richardson converted 10-for-16 while Walker shot 6-for-7. Although closely guarded, Tibbs still managed 5-for-7 for 12 points. Michael Hale and Trey Williams notched nine points each. Hale also dished out six assists.
