The Saint Jo Panthers were able to bounce back and beat Bellevue on Friday night in Bowie to earn the third seed in district play.
The Panthers won 69-51 against a hot Eagles team coming into the game.
Bellevue had won the last four district games heading into the game, including a dominant win against Saint Jo just the previous week.
The Eagles comeback win against second seed Forestburg earlier in the week clutched at least a playoff spot, with a play-in game against the Panthers for the third seed.
The first quarter was competitive as Bellevue led 15-12 as the Eagles had five different players score at least one point.
The Panthers answered back in the second quarter, scoring 22 points as the team got a big lift from Devin Stewart who scored nine points during that period.
Bellevue kept up, scoring 16 points even as it fell behind a little bit.
Saint Jo led 35-31 at halftime.
The Panthers defense stepped up in the third quarter, limiting the Eagles to only one basket and some free throw attempts as Bellevue scored seven points.
Saint Jo got a big boost from Barrett Johnson, who scored 10 of his team’s 14 points as the Panthers lead extended.
Saint Jo led 49-38 heading into the final period.
While the Eagles scored a bit better in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 points, it was not enough to keep up with the Panthers. Saint Jo went 12-16 from the free throw line in the final period alone, which helped the team score 20 points and pull further ahead.
The Panthers won 69-51.

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