SPORTS
Part two: 1974 champ shares season journey
The Bowie News is publishing a letter sent in from David Prater, who was the starting center, co-captain and named to the all-state tournament team on the 1974 Bowie boy’s basketball state title team. The son of Bettie and the late Paul Prater, he wanted to give his first-hand account of that season as a tribute to his Coach Gayno Shelton after the team was featured in the Looking Back series. The letter was published in two parts.
The rest of district was uneventful until the last game. The flu had come to town and half the team was either getting over it or just getting it. Coach decided to play us sick ones only two quarters. I played in the first and third quarters. Lee Ray Massey must not have been sick because he had 38 points and we scored 105 points. It was our only 100 point game.
We next had a “warm up” game at Midwestern against Petrolia. They had beaten us three times. The first time was early in the season while football was going on. The second was at their place, where the clock stopped working and Steve committed a phantom foul as time ran out and they made a free throw to win. The third was at a tournament at Midwestern.
This was my first shot at them. We were the better team. I had just recovered from the flu and this was the only game in my high school or college career that I played every second of the game. This was a close game from start to finish.
We were ahead most of the time, but could never pull away. Near the end I got a defensive rebound, but before I found an outlet, they just took the ball right out of my hands and scored.
In the final minute we were down by two points. I was fouled and missed both free throws. We lost the game by two points. I knew how to play when there was plenty of time on the clock or we were up by 20 points. I had to learn what to do with the game on the line in the closing seconds.
The bi-district game was against Coleman. It was the first time I had heard the rumbling in town. Coleman and Hooks were in the same district. Hooks had beaten Bowie the year before and now Coleman had beaten Hooks, so Coleman must be really good.
Looks like a trip to state was not going to happen. Luckily, the players didn’t see it that way. We beat Coleman by 33 points. Tommy Cannon was leading scorer with 20 points and I had 16 rebounds.
At the regional tournament our first game was against Ferris. I did not have a good game. My shot would not fall as I made 3-9. I did get 13 rebounds. Darwin McKinley had 23 and Lee Ray had 18. We won by 15.
We watched the first half of the game of our next opponent. New Boston with the leaper and Kaufman with the three 6-foot-3-inch farm boys, as my dad called them, on the back of their 2 – 3 zone.
To start the game the leaper moved across the middle of the lane, he jumped for a high pass, went back up and made a soft shot. This guy could jump. By half time though, he was no longer catching the ball in the middle of the lane. The 6-foot-3-inch farm boys were positioned so he was catching it almost at the free throw line and outside his comfortable shooting range.
I was asked who I would rather play against and I said Kaufman. I wasn’t sure I could slow down the leaper. If the farm boys stopped me, then that was okay because each of our other four starters could score 20 points in any given game.
Kaufman couldn’t stop all of us. I got my wish, but the town was rumbling again. If Kaufman could stop the leaper they could stop me and we would not go to state. Had the town forgotten about our other four starters? We were not one dimensional. I was just one of five.
Before each game, my dad would tell me to “get after it.” This was about all he was allowed to say because of my insecurities as a player, any helpful comments were always perceived as criticism by me. I knew I wasn’t very good, I didn’t need reminding. This time he told me, if we wanted to go to state, I had to have a great game. I was going to have to carry the team this game if we were going to win.
Before the game, coach went over a scouting report. It was the first we had ever had. He told me not to put the ball on the floor. I thought, I never do that so not a problem.
The game started, I won the tip and on the first play I got the ball on the block. I did two things I had not done all year: I faked the shot, took one dribble to the middle of the lane and jumped in for the layup. I made the shot, got fouled and made the free throw. The game was close the whole time. We finally pulled away at the end and won by 11 points. I had my first 20–20 game, 25 points and 22 rebounds. After the buzzer sounded we jumped around, high five’d and hugged each other. We were going to state.
Years later at one of the many award ceremonies for coach or one of us players, coach said that was the best playing of a big man in the playoffs he had ever seen. He said “Prater was not going to let the team lose. He made sure we won.” We were barely ahead when I fouled out. In the last two minutes, the team made six free throws and stopped Kaufman from scoring. That’s how you win close games.
We chartered a bus with the team from Petrolia for the trip to Austin. Talk about complete opposites in culture. Petrolia was loud, made rude comments to people in the other cars and played poker on the bus. Some Bowie players finally joined in on the cards, but no one would have dared to make comments to people passing by. I could never see me doing well in the Petrolia culture.
We settled into our hotel rooms. The team had the whole floor so we left our doors open to wander around and visit. A couple of players from another team came to our room and sat down for a visit. They said they were from Bastrop, another 2A team playing in the other bracket. After a visit we wished each other good luck and they left. These “Bastrop” players had big R’s on their letter jackets. Maybe the Refugio players, who were 29–0, weren’t that smart.
A couple of things going on at this time was streaking and Cheech & Chong had an album with a track call “Basketball Jones”. I didn’t see any streakers, but some of the parents did on the UT campus. At the state tournament during time outs or just on the bench, it wasn’t uncommon to hear Coach Jackson singing a little Basketball Jones. Keeping us loose and relaxed as best as we could be.
Refugio, the number one team in the state versus Bowie with five loses, four of them by a total of only seven points. They beat several teams going to the playoffs and some higher division teams. Their press defense was their offense. This worked great against any team that did not have a point guard named Bobby Brashear. One-on-one you could not steal the ball from Bobby. Two-on-one was not much better chance. Of course Tommy Cannon or Lee Ray Massey were pretty good ball handlers, too.
The game started and I think the first six times down on offense Lee Ray and I scored three baskets each. Unfortunately, I had picked up two fouls on the defensive end. I started the second quarter and had three baskets before my third foul. I took a whole 30 seconds in the second half to pick up fouls four and five. Not much help to the team.
Rick Belz stepped in and stepped up his game. His starting the first of the year while I was hurt really paid off now. Darwin had his routine 20 point game and we won by seven points. Funny how the only people not shocked was our team. We were never behind during the second half, something Refugio had not experienced. They did not know how to play with the game on the line at the end.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Prairie Valley
The Prairie Valley Bulldogs had a good final non-district warm-up on Friday at home against Ector.
The Eagles beat the Bulldogs 69-63 in a game where Prairie Valley was trying to play catch up all the way through.
The Bulldogs were coming off a tough tournament at Electra the previous week to try and knock the holiday rust off. Prairie Valley was familiar with Ector, having played the team to start its season back in early November and was hoping to compete better than it did in that first game.
The Eagles came out firing, splashing five 3-pointers, including several deep ones, to go out to a 21-8 lead in the first quarter. Even with the Bulldogs changing out of their preferred zone defense, the 3-pointers continued a bit and opened things up inside the arc.
Thankfully, Prairie Valley’s offense came alive in the second quarter, scoring 18 points and cutting the lead down to 38-26 at halftime.
The third quarter was more of the same, though a different player for Ector started to get hot from beyond the arc. Even as the Bulldogs were able to keep up their offensive production from the second quarter, they could not break through and cut the game to single-digits, trailing 54-42 heading into the final period.
The fourth quarter saw Prairie Valley break through to cut it the lead to single-digits, but just not close enough. Every time the Bulldogs were on the cusp of making it a one or two basket game, the Eagles would make a shot to keep that distance.
In the end, the final score was the closest Prairie Valley got as Ector won 69-63.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians bounced back with a competitive district win at Petrolia on Friday.
The Indians won 60-53 against the Pirates in a game where the middle quarters took drastic swings in momentum.
Nocona was coming off its first district loss against Windthorst as the team sat a 1-1 district record.
Petrolia came into the game at 0-1, but had a bit more time to prepare for the game.
The first quarter was competitive, but the Indians were able to get to the free throw line at will and led 16-11.
Then Nocona’s pressure defense turned up its intensity in the second quarter.
“Our pressure seemed to disrupt them and we were able to get out in transition after forcing turnovers,” Coach Brody Wilson said.
Nocona scored 25 points and led 41-25 at halftime.
Unfortunately, that intensity did not keep up at the start of the third quarter for Nocona.
The Indians took their foot off the gas a little bit which allowed Petrolia’s offense to get back into the game and make up some of the deficit.
The Pirates outscored Nocona 15-7 and trailed only 48-40 heading into the final period.
Thankfully, the Indians bounced back and competed a bit better in the fourth quarter. Nocona was able to keep offensive pace to keep Petrolia at a bit of a distance instead of making it a one score game.
The Indians held on to win 60-53.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly Bowie News.
For more pictures from the Prairie Valley game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6871971&T=1
Saint Jo vs Prairie Valley
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers opened up district play on Friday at Prairie Valley in their bid to repeat as district champs.
The Lady Panthers got off on the right start, beating an undermanned Lady Bulldogs team 60-6.
Saint Jo came into the game confident after a good run at the Caprock Classic tournament in Lubbock after the holiday break. With four starters back from last year’s team that went 11-1 on its way to a district title, nothing has deterred the Lady Panthers from being favorites to repeat this season.
For Prairie Valley, there was worry it might not have enough players to field a team following a successful volleyball season. Thankfully, the Lady Bulldogs have fielded seven players most of this season, but it has been tough during their pre-district schedule.
Prairie Valley was coming into the game off a win in its previous game against Christ Academy, but that was all the way back on Dec. 20 before the holidays.
Saint Jo came out in its full-court press and harassed the Lady Bulldogs from the jump. Every time Prairie Valley advanced the ball past halfcourt and got a shot up was a win with how voracious the Lady Panthers defense was.
It fed directly into Saint Jo’s offense, with the Lady Panthers trying quick hitting drives or post ups near the rim or jacking up 3-point shots.
The first quarter was the most competitive of the game with Saint Jo up 16-4. Even as Saint Jo eventually pulled its press defense back to halfcourt and eventually no press defense, the team is used to playing one way which is hard and physical on defense which leads to turnovers and pushing the ball in transition.
That wore on the Prairie Valley team as the game went on as few players got any rest besides during timeouts and quarter breaks.
That put an end to the Lady Bulldogs scoring after making two free throws in the second quarter. Even as Saint Jo emptied its bench, Prairie Valley players were just trying to survive by the end of the game.
The Lady Panthers won 60-6.
Nocona
The Nocona Lady Indians won another district game on Friday in blowout fashion against Petrolia.
The Lady Indians scored a season high, breaking the century mark as they won 104-26 against the Lady Pirates.
Nocona came into the game confident, having last lost a district game back in 2019 and having won its first four district games by an average of 53 points. This game proved to be the most one-sided so far.
The Lady Indians scored 33 points in both the first and second quarters. The second half saw Nocona cool down only to scoring 20 and 18 points in the third and fourth quarters.
Few teams could have kept up, let alone Petrolia as the Lady Indians won 104-26.
Bellevue
The Bellevue Lady Eagles started district on a good note with a win at Midway on Friday.
The Lady Eagles won 68-40 against the Lady Falcons thanks to a strong first quarter.
Bellevue comes into district play hoping to improve on last year’s fourth place finish. While a few expected starters are out, the team has had a full pre-district schedule playing with a stable lineup to get ready for it as well as getting used to new Coach Celsey Hoffman.
The first quarter saw the Lady Eagles come out swinging offensively. Mostly just from attacking the basket and using a team first approach, Bellevue put up 29 points in the first quarter, with seven different players contributing.
The Lady Eagles led 29-12.
Playing with a huge lead allowed Bellevue to survive some of the eventual lulls that came as few high school teams can continually score at a pace like that. Midway actually outscored the Lady Eagles in the second quarter, but only by one point as Bellevue led 42-26 at halftime.
The third quarter saw the Lady Eagles play their most complete stretch of the game, limiting the Lady Falcons to only five points while scoring 17 points to extend their lead.
The fourth quarter was low-scoring and even as Bellevue won 68-40.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
For more pictures from the Saint Jo versus Prairie Valley game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6871972&T=1
Bowie boys
The Bowie Jackrabbits can’t catch a break in district as they lost another close game, this time at Holliday on Friday.
The Eagles won 59-57 in overtime against the Jackrabbits as Bowie made a second half push that gave it a chance.
The Jackrabbits were coming into the game 0-2 in district, losing earlier in the week to City View by three points and to Jacksboro before the holiday break by two points.
The first half saw Bowie’s offense struggle, scoring six points in the first quarter and eight in the second quarter. Holliday scored in the double-digits in both quarters led 27-14 at halftime as the team looked in control of the game.
The Jackrabbits came alive offensively in the second half. Bowie scored 18 points in the third quarter, with six different players scoring and the team making three 3-pointers after only making one in the first half.
While defensively the Jackrabbits did not shut down the Eagles, the team cut the lead to single-digits, trailing 39-32 heading into the fourth quarter.
From there, Bowie grinded away at the lead, with Rayder Mann and Bradly Horton combining to score 15 of the team’s 17 points in the quarter.
It was just enough to tie the score up at the end of regulation 49-49 and send the game into overtime.
In the extra period, the Jackrabbits scored at a good pace in the shortened time, with three players scoring eight points. Unfortunately, Holliday saw Jayden Whitley, who had scored only six points during regulation, explode to score nine of his team’s 10 points during overtime.
It was just enough to give the Eagles the win 59-57.
Bowie girls
The Bowie Lady Rabbits lost a low-scoring, closely contested game at Holliday on Friday.
The Eagles won the game by one basket 31-28 in a game where every point mattered in the defensive struggle.
Bowie came into the game following its first district loss of the season against City View in which the team had struggled to score and lost by 11 points against the Lady Mustangs. Before that the Lady Rabbits had picked up solid wins against Iowa Park and Jacksboro.
Bowie did not start the game great on a good note. The Lady Rabbits continued to struggle to score, making only one basket in the first quarter. Thankfully, the defense had not allowed Holliday to run away with it as Bowie trailed 10-2.
The Lady Rabbits offense found some things that worked in the second quarter, with four different players scoring two points as they scored 10 points. Bowie trailed only 18-12 at halftime.
Neither team were able to find offensive answers in the third quarter. The Lady Rabbits again only scored on one made basket. Thankfully, their defense did not allow Holliday to grow its lead much. The Lady Eagles outscored Bowie only 6-3 as the score was 24-15 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Rabbits easily had their best offensive quarter of the game, nearly outscoring their three quarter total with 13 points from four players scoring.
Bowie got some luck from Holliday not shooting well from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. The Lady Eagles went 3-12 from the free throw line which allowed the Lady Rabbits a chance.
Unfortunately, those three free throw makes proved to be all the difference as Holliday held on to win 31-28.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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