The Bowie Jackrabbits came back from their holiday break to dust off the rust and play Bridgeport at home on Friday.
The Jackrabbits won 54-40 against the Bulls in a game that was mostly used as a warmup by both teams to try and get back where they were before the long break.
Bowie last played a game 10 days before on Dec. 20 when it opened district with a win against Iowa Park.
With the following week restarting district play, the Jackrabbits wanted some game action to see where they were at.
The opening quarter was competitive throughout. Bridgeport was taller in the post and played a zone defense that made it a tough proposition to drive into the lane.
Instead, Bowie hunted open shots on the perimeter in the half court while looking to speed the game up by playing full-court press style defense that led to opportunities in transition.
The Jackrabbits made three 3-pointers in the first quarter and led 15-10.
The second quarter saw a lot less scoring from both teams. Bowie seemed to be settling for too many 3-pointers and only one went in during this time.
With transition opportunities drying up since the team could not set up the press, the Jackrabbit players had to start challenging the Bulls with shots near the rim and did come away with a few baskets.
Thankfully, Bowie’s defense clamped down harder as well, limiting Bridgeport to only six points which led the Jackrabbits to keep their lead at 24-16 at halftime.
Bowie got a big offensive jolt from Andrew Sandhoff in the second half. He scored 14 off the bench including four 3-pointers to help the Jackrabbits keep their lead even as Bridgeport’s offense found a bit more success as well.
Bowie balanced out the shooting from outside from Sandhoff with some shots around the rim to build its lead to 38-28 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Jackrabbits made three 3-pointers and a handful of shots around the basket to pull away in the final period as Bowie won 54-40.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.