The Bowie Jackrabbits playoff run came to an end on Tuesday night playing district foe City View for the third time this season.
The Mustangs won the game 65-50, marking their third win against the Jackrabbits this season to end Bowie’s unexpected playoff run.
The Jackrabbits were underdogs coming into the game, but that was nothing new. Bowie was not expected to win its last three games it had won against Holliday in the season finale, Peaster in the four overtime epic in the bi-district and against a solid Jim Ned team in the area round.
City View had more competition this season, but just finished ahead of Vernon and Holliday to win its third straight district title. The Mustangs had beaten the Jackrabbits twice in district by 19 and 17 points, but this was a different Bowie team hoping the third time would be the charm.
It was a packed and loud gym filled with supporters from both schools hoping to cheer their team on to a regional tournament appearance, City View hoping for its third straight and what would be Bowie’s first since the state title team in 2018.
The Jackrabbits came out swinging, scoring the game’s first six points and not allowing the Mustangs to score until halfway through the opening quarter.
Bowie’s biggest weakness in its matchup against City View is its lack of size in the post, which is where the Mustangs arguably top two players William Jordan and Kendrick Gibson do their best work.
City View was able to get some easy baskets in transition and in the halfcourt once the first shot went in and got the lead at the end of the quarter up 11-9.
The stretch in the second quarter was the most costly for Bowie in the game. Careless turnovers were turned into easy baskets. The Mustangs led by as many as 12 points at one point, but Bowie was able to cut the lead down to single-digits 31-22 at halftime.
The second half saw the Jackrabbits cut down on the turnovers, but were unable to stop City View’s offense. The Mustangs continuously drove into the paint in the second half against the man-to-man defense Bowie was playing. Even with extra defenders coming to try and help at the basket, it did not deter the City View players who drew a lot more free throw attempts than it did in first half.
The Jackrabbits were scoring at a decent pace, but with them unable to stop the parade of free throw attempts they found themselves trailing by more heading into the fourth quarter down 49-34.
It was the same story in the final period. Extra pressure from Bowie might have kept the game’s pace fast, but it did not stop the Mustangs enough for the Jackrabbits to make a big comeback.
City View would win with little drama at the end 65-50.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.