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Decatur Court Kings fall short in home opener
by Maurice Richardson
mauricerichardsonsports@yahoo.com
 The Decatur Court Kings dropped their home opener to an undefeated Buford Majic 82-80 at the Decatur Recreation Center June 4.
The World Basketball Association semi-pro team Decatur Court Kings is coming off a superb 2008 season last year.
Decatur Court Kings kicked off their season opener on May 23 against Tupelo Rock-N-Rollers in Tupelo, Miss. They defeated the Rock-N-Rollers 77-71. Kings guard Benny Lewis had a dominant game with 18 points and six rebounds. The Buford Majic also won their first game of the season, which was a home opener against the Memphis Tornadoes in a close battle that ended 87-85.
“It feels good to have a semi-pro team in the community. It gives them another chance to play basketball and gives the community some excitement,” said Decatur Court Kings fan Vic Lomas. “We are excited for the Kings season to get started,” said Memo Konrad.
The Kings got off to a slow start against the Buford Majic. With 3:39 remaining in the first quarter, Decatur head coach Markeal King called a timeout with his team down 14-8. King told his players to play with a lot of energy. The Kings never led in the first quarter and were trailing the Majic the entire first half.
Buford guard Wayne Arnold came off the bench in the first quarter shooting three from four from three point land. With Arnold’s hot shooting and the Majic’s good defense the Kings found themselves trailing at the end of one period 24-15. In the second quarter, things continued badly for the home team. Buford’s offensive tempo continued to be successful against the Kings man-to-man defense. With 6:00 remaining in the second quarter, Buford head coach David Akins called a timeout with his team, up 29-21.
Following the timeout the Majic offense kept pouring it on the Kings defense by going on a 19-8 run to close the first half. The Decatur Court Kings were trailing 48-29 at the half. For the Decatur Court Kings to get back in this game in the second half, “We need a lot of more energy on the offensive side,” said assistant coach Corey Browne. On the defensive side, “We need to play better perimeter defense and stop Buford’s pick and roll,” said coach Browne.
The Kings offense was starting to pick up in the second half. The Kings were active on both the offense and defense hustling and scrambling for the loose ball. Head coach Akins picked up a technical foul with 3:37 remaining in the third quarter. The score was 56-46 with the Majic up by 10 points. Lewis connected on the technical free throw shot making the game 56-47. However, at the end of the third quarter Buford was leading 64-53. Buford had held the lead the entire game so far.
At the start of the fourth quarter the Kings were down 64-53. “We do not panic,” said coach King. Fans began chanting “Let’s go Court Kings” and “Rebound.”
With 4:58 remaining in the fourth quarter Kings’ Jamal Stokes scored a layup to cut the Majic lead within three, 68-65. Decatur center Kenny Boyd was a huge factor in the last four minutes of the game. Boyd tied the game on a layup with 3:27 remaining in the fourth quarter, and about 30 seconds later Boyd gave the Court Kings their first lead of the game 73-71.
The fans were on their feet yelling and screaming, “Kings are in the court.” On the following play, Arnold tied the game with two free throws, 73-73. Kings guard Jamal Walker connected on a big three giving the Kings their biggest lead of the game, 76-73. Both teams were trading baskets the last two minutes of the game. As defending champions the Kings held their composure.
Lewis made one out of two from the free-throw line with 1:36 remaining to give the Kings a one-point lead, 77-76. With just about 45 seconds left, Kings forward Martinis Woody also connected on one out of two from the free-throw line, increasing the Court Kings lead to 78-76. Then the Majic’s Arnold was fouled on a dunk in which he made and connected on the free throw, finishing with an old fashioned three-point play giving the Majic a 79-78 lead. After the timeout called by coach King, the Kings took an 80-79 lead from Stokes’ put back with 9.5 seconds remaining in the game.
The Kings fans are on their feet with 9.5 seconds remaining chanting, “You can do it Court Kings.” However, with the ball given to a wide open Michael Sloan for an open three pointer he made the shot and silenced the crowd. Buford regained their lead 82-80 back with two seconds remaining in the game. The Kings inbounded the ball and found Walker, but he missed the shot and the buzzer sounded. Decatur suffered a tough 82-80 loss.
“We were very fortunate down the stretch to come away with this win,” said the Majic’s coach Akins.
The Decatur Court Kings still expect this to be an exciting season. “This team has a real mix of front and back court players,” said King. “This year’s team is more athletic than the 2008 team and has a good chance to repeat as WBA champions.”
The Decatur Court Kings next home game will take place on Friday, June 12, against Cartersville Baseline Warriors at 7 p.m. at Decatur Recreation Center, 231 Sycamore Street in Decatur.
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