SPORTS
Boys Roundup
Saint Jo vs Prairie Valley
The Saint Jo Panthers barely survived at Prairie Valley on Friday night.
The Panthers won 51-48 against a Bulldog team that was in control for most of the game.
Saint Jo came into the game with only one district loss to Midway so far and goals to try and go for the district title with its experienced team. The Panthers beat Prairie Valley earlier this season in their hosted tournament in December by 38 points as the Bulldogs work in some younger, inexperienced players to go with their experienced backcourt.
Early on Saint Jo led 15-9 in the first quarter as it used its size and athleticism to take control. The second and third quarters were dominated by Prairie Valley team that just seemed to want it more than Saint Jo.
The Bulldogs limited the Panthers to only 15 points the next two quarters and made enough shots centered around point guard Tyler Winkler running pick and rolls and Prairie Valley making timely 3-pointers or just hustling for scrappy shot attempts.
Despite this, Saint Jo trailed only 33-30 heading into the fourth quarter though it seemed from its end everything was going wrong.
It was back and forth down the stretch as the Panthers retook the lead for the first time in the second half with 35 seconds left on a Kile Thurman field goal to make it 47-45. Prairie Valley did have a chance to retake the lead when it was fouled on a 3-point shot, but only one was made to cut the lead to 47-46. The Panthers were then sent to the free throw line and Devin Stewart made both to go up 49-46.
The Bulldogs somehow got fouled on another 3-pointer with eight seconds left and had a chance to tie the game, but missed the first before making the final two to again cut the lead to one point 49-48.
Prairie Valley got a quick steal and shot up to try and take the lead, but it missed and the Panthers got control of the ball. Thurman again was sent to the free throw line and again made both free throws to push Saint Jo’s lead to 51-48 with four seconds left.
Prairie Valley got the ball and Winkler advanced it just inside half court on the right side and launched a running shot that was close, but did not go in as the Panthers won the game.
His friend on the other team Thurman consoled him immediately afterwards despite the close fought game.
Thurman led the Panthers with 16 points while Brice Durham was second with 14 points.
For Prairie Valley, Winkler led the team with 22 points while Dakota Fore and Eli Croxton each had six points each. Croxton led the team with five steals while Fore and Winkler each had five rebounds.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians lost their district opener on Friday night at Seymour.
The Panthers won 48-45 as the Indians were playing from behind after a not so great start in the first half.
Seymour was up 18-9 after the first quarter and while Nocona scored better in the second quarter, it was not enough to keep the Panthers from building a double-digit lead 35-23 at halftime.
Coach Brody Wilson said the main culprits for the getting in the hole came down to two things were hashed out at halftime.
“We were down early and it was mostly due to not rebounding and taking forced shots,” Wilson said. “We played better defense and rebounded better in the second half to come back and give ourselves a chance.”
After a low-scoring third quarter did not see Nocona make up any ground, the team started rolling in the fourth quarter.
In the end, the Indians had a chance to tie the game up at the end, but it did not go their way in the final play.
“We had the ball with five seconds left, down three, and turned it over on a dribble handoff,” Wilson said.
Seymour won 48-45.
Brady McCasland led the team with 20 points while Michael Wetmore was second with eight points. Conley Kleinhans and Charlie Fuller each had a team high six rebounds.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Bowie boys
The Bowie Jackrabbits had a good tournament back from the Christmas break last week, playing four games at Bridgeport.
The Jackrabbits went 3-1 overall, with the one loss coming against a bigger schools that is state-ranked.
Bowie started the tournament playing a small but athletic team in 4A Western Hills that liked to press on defense and shoot a lot of 3-pointers.
The Jackrabbits started the game out well, going up 14-6. Bowie was able to stay in control up 25-18 at halftime. The Cougars rode the hot outside shooting of one of their players, but the Jackrabbits had more of a team effort offensively throughout the game that never wavered.
Bowie won easily 51-38 to start off the tournament well. Rayder Mann led the team with 15 points while Gaige Goodman was second with 10 points and Adam Pickett had nine points.
The second game did not go well as the Jackrabbits were matched up with 4A state-ranked team Burkburnett.
Unlike the previous game, the Bulldogs press defense sped up the game to a pace Bowie did not want to be. After a close first quarter, Burkburnett had two quarters it scored more than 20 points that the Jackrabbits just could not match. The Bulldogs won 78-47.
Mann led the team with 17 points while Goodman was second with seven points.
The second day saw Bowie play previous Montague County rival Nocona for the first time since 2022.
The Indians led early 10-4, but the Jackrabbits cut into the lead and trailed only 20-16 at halftime. Bowie’s offense had a good third quarter, equaling its first half total on offense while limiting Nocona to seven points.
The Jackrabbits then made enough of their free throws in the fourth quarter to keep the Indians at bay as they won 41-34.
Mann led the team with 12 points while Bradly Horton was second with 10 points.
Bowie was able to take that win into its final game of the tournament, playing 4A Bonham. The Jackrabbits beat the Warriors 53-39 to close out the tournament on a good note.
Bowie girls
The Bowie Lady Rabbits came back from the holiday break and played a non-district warm-up game at Pottsboro on Friday to get back into shape.
The state-ranked 3A Lady Cardinals team won 56-35 against the Lady Rabbits.
Bowie had a great week heading into the Christmas break. The Lady Rabbits had started district 2-0 with wins against Iowa Park and Jacksboro. With district play waiting for the team this week, Bowie had one game to get its see legs back.
It did not start well for the Lady Rabbits. Pottsboro went ahead 19-6. Bowie had nowhere to go but up as it cut the lead to 25-15 at halftime.
Then the Lady Cardinals responded with a huge 24 point third quarter that put the game out of reach for the Lady Rabbits. Bowie finished strong with 15 points in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to make up the big lead.
Pottsboro won 56-35.
Parker Riddle led the team with 12 points while Hanna Bell was second with 11 points.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
For more pictures of the Bowie boys at the Bridgeport tournament, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6871607&T=1
The Bellevue basketball teams both played in the playoffs for the first time in several years. The Lady Eagles finished fourth in the district to qualify after missing the previous season. In the bi-district round, Bellevue had to play the eventual state champs Newcastle.
The Eagles also finished fourth, though they played Saint Jo in a play-in game for third place. Bellevue then had to play state-ranked Graford in the bi-district round before ending its season.
The spring season saw Bellevue bring back its baseball program after many years.
While the team struggled during its initial season, it is a step in the first step for a program that hopes to compete well in the near future. In golf, the Lady Eagles ended up winning the district title to qualify for the regional tournament.
In the fall, both of Bellevue’s cross country teams finished second at district and qualified for regionals.
There, Mattie Broussard was able to qualify for the state meet individually after winning the regional title.
At state, Broussard came in ninth place to earn a medal.
To see pictures and highlights from all of the area schools, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
The Prairie Valley program had a good spring to start 2024. In tennis Case Carpenter qualified for regionals after finishing second at the district meet in boy’s singles. In golf, the Lady Bulldogs team finished second at the district tournament to qualify for regionals.
To cap off the spring season, Linzie Priddy qualified for the state track meet in the 800 meter race, where she placed ninth overall.
The fall season saw the Lady Bulldogs finish second in district to qualify for the playoffs. In the bi-district round, Prairie Valley held on to beat Vernon Northside in five sets to continue its season one more game. In the area round, the Lady Bulldogs lost to Garner.
In cross country, the program had one boy and one girl qualify for the state meet for the second straight year.
Josh Stout was running at state for the second time and he improved on his first appearance as she placed 29th. Priddy, running at the state cross country meet for her third time, finished 84th.
To see pictures and highlights from all of the area schools, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
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