The Nocona Indians could not pull off another upset win in district play as they hosted Holliday on Friday.
The Indians lost a low-scoring game 44-38 against the Eagles in a game that was close throughout.
Nocona came into the game after the biggest of pick-me-up game wins against rival Bowie, especially after starting district play with a close loss to Henrietta and a blowout loss to City View.
Holliday came into the game following its first district loss to City View after winning its first three district games.
The game started with the Eagles taking an early lead, but a couple of 3-pointers and a regular field goal put Nocona up 8-6. Holliday would then finish the quarter on a 7-0 run to take back the lead and be in control 13-8 heading into the second quarter.
It was a slog for both teams until halftime.
Holliday kept trying to get shots around the basket, but the Indians Sam Davis proved to be a big deterrent as he blocked or altered several shots without fouling too much. The Eagles scored only five points.
Unfortunately, Nocona did not do any better. Only two made baskets from Lyndon Fenoglio were the only points the Indians could get before halftime, making the score 18-12.
The third quarter was only slightly better when it came to scoring for either team. Nocona slowly but surely took half of the quarter to take its first lead since the first quarter 19-18.
Unfortunately, Holliday came back to go on its own 7-0 run to close the quarter ahead 26-19.
For whatever reason, the lid that had been on the basket for three quarters seemed to open in the fourth quarter.
After getting to the free throw line only twice in the first three quarters, the Indians attempted eight in fourth quarter. Fenoglio made several tough shots down the stretch to try and keep Nocona within range of coming back, scoring nine of his team high 17 points.
Unfortunately, Holliday was also able to score as Cade Borchardt scored nine of his 12 points in the quarter. At one point the Eagles had a double-digit lead 39-29 with a little more than two minutes left to play.
With 22 seconds left the Nocona had cut the lead in half 43-38 and had a shot to cut the game to one basket. The team missed and Holliday made a free throw at the end to make the final score 44-38.

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