The Bowie Jackrabbits season came to an end Thursday night in Breckenridge as they lost a defensive struggle against Jim Ned in the area round of the playoffs.
Coming up a basket short 41-39, the Indians ended the Jackrabbits hope of trying to defend their state title before people could really get excited about it.
Jim Ned came out in a zone defense, but had two players on Bowie’s big Daniel Mosley even when he did not have the ball. Usually teams bring help when Mosley catches the ball, but Mosley has been strong enough to finish through multiple defenders if he catches the ball in favorable positions.
This left one shooter open for the Jackrabbits, but the Indians were quick to close out on the shooter if the pass was not perfect.
Early on Bowie was able to shut down Jim Ned’s post offense inside as Mosley blocked multiple shots. The Indians then elected to finding open perimeter shots with players coming off multiple screens.
The Indians would disguise this with a pick-and-roll before passing to the open shooter away from the action. Jim Ned made three three-pointers and led 12-9 heading into the second quarter.
The Indians scored twice in the first two minutes to go up 17-9 and with the momentum, it looked like they might start pulling away if Bowie could not figure out how to score. The Jackrabbits doubled down on their defense allowing only one more made shot for the next six minutes. Bowie’s offense found ways to score as Justin Franklin was able to slice through a couple times to score while Braden Armstrong made most of the open shots he got. A made three-pointer from Franklin cut the lead to 20-19 as the Indians led at halftime.
While the Jackrabbits had stifled Indians sharpshooter Ethan Senne for most of the second quarter after he had already scored 13 points, Senne came out hot. He made three more three-pointers as Jim Ned got its lead in the double digits, leading 34-24 midway through the third quarter.
In the same way Bowie cut the lead close in the first half, the Jackrabbits slowly but surely got back into the game through defense and manufacturing points with balanced play. Bowie cut the lead to 36-31 heading into the fourth quarter with all the momentum.
Jim Ned had to deal with foul trouble with some players throughout the game while the Jackrabbits foul situation never really was an issue. That said, fouls were rarely called on the night and shooting fouls were non-existent. Through three quarters only the Indians had attempted a just a single free throw.
Bowie quickly took its first lead of the game within the first two minutes of the fourth quarter 37-36. The next three and half minutes saw the teams trade baskets, with Jim Ned leading 40-39.
On the Jackrabbits’ next possession, they had a good look at a three-point shot, but missed. The Indians got the rebound and forced Bowie to foul them with 43 seconds left. Jim Ned missed the free throw and the Jackrabbits had the ball with 32 seconds left.
After a timeout, Bowie was able to get a decent mid-range shot off, but it missed. The Indians secured the rebound and the Jackrabbits fouled them. Jim Ned made one of the two free throws to go up 41-39.
Bowie grabbed the rebound off the miss and called a timeout with 3.17 seconds left. It was just enough time to advance the ball maybe just past halfcourt and a made basket would win the game.
The Jackrabbits passed the ball to a player at halfcourt sprinting towards the sideline with his defender trailing him. After he caught the ball and turned up the court to get off a desperate shot, he was called for stepping out of bounds before he shot. With one second left and the Indians gaining possession of the ball, the game was over after they inbounded the ball as Jim Ned won 41-39.

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