Tough sledding in the fourth quarter kept the Decatur boys' basketball team from claiming a fourth place trophy in its final Class 4A state tournament appearance before switching to Class 3A next season.

Struggling to just two field goals in the final period, the Gators (19-11) allowed the Blue Devils of Walla (25-6) to pull away for a 48-38 victory in the game for fourth and seventh places.

"We just didn't make the plays, make our shots and didn't execute," Decatur head coach Kevin Olson stated. "We more than stalled there. Fourth quarter, give them credit for their defense."

Despite Jerron Smith's strong outside shooting -- including a pair of three-pointers -- in the first quarter, the Gators trailed 14-13. The inside-outside threats of 6-foot-7 Michael Weisner and 6-foot Gary Winston, respectively, took away a 12-7 Decatur lead.

This duo continued to be thorns in Decatur's side. Weisner scored all the Blue Devil points in a 9-4 run that gave Walla Walla a 27-20 halftime lead after Terrell Williams had whittled down a five-point Walla Walla margin to 18-16 on a three-point missile with 6:44 left before halftime.

Smith and Williams combined for eight consecutive Gator points that turned a 32-26 Decatur deficit into a 34-32 lead under the two minute mark. Smith's three-pointer beyond the arc at the top of the key capped the surge.

Both teams missed opportunities to score. Evidence of the extreme Gator hustle manifested itself when Anthony Williams crashed into the courtside media WIAA officials table. Williams even helped put the table back together. but Blue Devils point guard Gary Winston was eventually fouled and converted two free throws to send the teams to the fourth quarter in a 34-34 deadlock.

Dom Hunter assisted Anthony Williams for an inside goal to keep Decatur with 37-36 with 3:33 remaining, but the Gator offense then dropped off the radar while Walla Walla outscored Decatur 11-2 the rest of the way.

"We fought hard," said Jerron Smith, who led the Gators with 16 points. "It just didn't come out for us. As for going to 3A, I think we can win in any classification."

Rebounding, especially off the offensive boards, kept the Gators in the game. A 42-31 dominance in total rebounds and a 13-5 advantage on the offensive rebounds partially offset 27 percent first half shooting and 27.1 percent field goal shooting for the game. In contrast, Walla Walla shot 40.7 from the field in the first half before dropping to 32.7 at the end of the game.

"The team experience was good," recalled Terrell Williams, who scored seven points. "We got exposure on the big stage. Playing 3A will be pretty much the same as 4A. We''ll still have to work hard."

Anthony Williams worked hard for 12 Decatur rebounds.

Gary Winston scored a game-high 24 points for the Blue Devils. Michael Weisner added 18 points and six rebounds.

The seventh place trophy is the Gators' third state tournament trophy and the second in the last four consecutive state appearances. Their previous trophy placing was sixth in 2008.

Despite finishing without the state championship, Olson was still proud of his team's state performance.

"The realistic goal for every team is to be playing on the last day of the season and earn a trophy," he declared. "One of the final eight teams in the state. I think there are a lot of people that didn't expect Decatur to be playing, so I'm very proud of this team."

Senior Jordan McCloud, likewise, looked back at the achievements.

"I'll really remember playing together and working for a state title," recalled McCloud, who finished the game with 14 rebounds and eight points. "When that went away, we made use of what we could do and play for a trophy. Becoming a leader this year was big for me. We had a number of leaders last year. This year, there was a big hole and I grew to be a leader. It's a blessing to be the first Decatur player to play in four state tournaments. That means we did some good things."

Decatur moves to Class 3A next season after 11 Class 4A appearances, which included second place in 1996, sixth place in 2008 and seventh this season. The Gators' losses at state in this four-year period were close and to top level teams.

"As coaches, we kept pushing the guys," said Olson. "It's been a very interesting year (through distractions and adversities that included a number of roster adjustments for various reasons). Jordan McCloud and the rest won some big games when we were down. The guys worked hard all year. My experience the last three years has prepared me for all of this. I have found that I need to stay on an even keel to make it through. We've had a great run and we won the big games when we needed to, to put us in the right place. There are definitely some tough teams in 3A and our work will still be cut out for us next season."

The state tournament team roster and the player class year for Decatur includes Jordan McCloud (Sr.), Terrell Williams (Jr.), Dom Hunter (Soph.), Brenden Willliams (Jr.), Robert Oliver (Sr.), Austen Wilson (Jr.), Jerron Smith (Jr.), Abraham Ferrell-Logan (Fresh.), Markus Rawls (Soph.), Tre Kelly (Sr.) and Anthony Williams (Sr.).

Assisting head coach Olson are coaches Steve Richardson, James Van Stralen and Shane Steneson.The athletic director is Kelly Kirk.