Boys
The Bowie Jackrabbits lost a tough game on the road at Vernon on Tuesday night.
The Lions won 59-44 as the Jackrabbits could not pull the upset for a second time this season.
Bowie came into the game needing a win if it wanted a chance to possibly break into the third spot or have a more firm control on fourth place in the district standings.
While the Jackrabbits did beat Vernon the first game the teams met, Bowie had to play one of its best games of the season and still just barely won 49-47.
The Lions needed a win to stay tied with City View for the second spot in the district standings.
For three quarters the Jackrabbits were doing the things they needed to do to try and get another unexpected win against an athletic Vernon team.
Bowie was limiting the Lions big impact players like their speedy guard and explosive post player. Unfortunately, Vernon’s other players picked up the pace and were making open shots to keep the Lions ahead for the most the game.
The Jackrabbits trailed only 14-12 after the first quarter and 23-17 at halftime. Bowie then cut into the deficit in the third quarter thanks to getting to the free throw line and converting 8-10.
The Jackrabbits trailed by only one basket 36-34 heading into the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately, there was a bad four-minute stretch where Vernon went on a big offensive run to pull ahead and Bowie could never catch back up. The Lions outscored the Jackrabbits 21-10 in the final period to pull ahead and make the final score not indicative of the first three quarters.
Vernon won 59-44.

Girls
The Bowie Lady Rabbits finished their season with a tough loss at Vernon on Tuesday night.
The Lady Lions won 39-27 in another low-scoring game for Bowie.
The Lady Rabbits were missing leading scorer and recent Midwestern State University signee Ziba Robbins due to injury. Vernon was just trying to wrap up a third place finish in the district.
The Lady Lions came out with a press defense that initially gave Bowie some problems and took a 10-4 lead after the first quarter.
The second quarter the scoring pace picked up as the Lady Rabbits started to break the press better and score some baskets from doing so. Unfortunately, Vernon scored in double-digits and led 23-13 at halftime.
Bowie’s defense had a good stretch in the third quarter, limiting the Lady Lions to only four points. The Lady Rabbits were able to cut into the deficit and trailed only 27-22 heading into the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately, Vernon closed the game strong despite missing more than half of its free throw attempts in the final period. The Lady Lions scored 12 points while Bowie made only two baskets.
Vernon pulled away to win 39-27.

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