The Bowie Jackrabbits came out on New Year’s Day and blitzed Jacksboro to start off district play 1-0.
The Jackrabbits won 71-26 and never trailed against a Tigers team they easily overmatched.
Bowie was coming into the game following a tough win against Aubrey earlier in the week where the team could have shot the ball better.
There was not any of that in Saturday’s game. Despite the game being on a holiday on the road in the early afternoon, the Jackrabbits did not take long to get going.
Bowie brought out a full-court press with trapping elements, meaning the team had no choice but to play fast.
The Jackrabbits capitalized their opportunities to push the ball ahead in transition, forcing turnovers and taking good shots.
Bowie was up 12-3 midway through the first quarter and 22-5 at the end of it. Six different players had scored points and the team had made three 3-pointers.
Early on in the second quarter, with the Jackrabbits lead already at 31-5, Coach Andy Atkins called off the press since only both a major collapse from his team and a huge turnaround from the Tigers would change the outcome at that point.
Early on it was a game where Bowie had to fight the urge to start to coast even as all players who suited out got to play extended minutes.
One of those players was Bayler Swint, a starter for most of last year who has been out with a leg injury for most of this season.
With the Jackrabbits lead 41-10 at halftime, Swint saw his first extended action since the team’s first few games this season. Despite the hope from Atkins that he would take it easy to feel his way back onto the court, Swint was looking to score from the first minute he was on the court.
“Really he hasn’t even had a full practice yet, so it was good to see him getting into it,” Atkins said. “I told him when he went in, nothing crazy. First play he drives right down the lane and gets fouled.”
Swint finished with eight points which tied him for the third most points scored in the game.
Jacksboro scored in double-digits in the third quarter scoring 11 points, but again were limited to just five points in the fourth quarter as Bowie finished the game strong.
The Jackrabbits won 71-26.

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