Prairie Valley
The Prairie Valley Bulldogs had a good win against Christ Academy on Friday night in which they were celebrating homecoming and its first hall of honor celebration.
The Bulldogs won 54-40, catching fire in the second half after a slow start against the Warriors.
Prairie Valley was trying to shake off its most recent loss against Bryson as the young team and new Coach Kent Caruthers work through early season hiccups.
The start to the game saw the Bulldogs struggle to score against Christ Academy while the Warriors were able to can in a couple of 3-pointers to help them take a 10-4 lead.
The second quarter saw Prairie Valley’s 3-2 zone increase in intensity and pressure, mixing in some full-court presses after made baskets to keep Christ Academy on its toes.
The Bulldogs limited the Warriors to only one made basket while continuing to attack the basket. Prairie Valley tied the score up at 14-14 heading into halftime.
The third quarter saw both team’s offenses explode relative to the first half. After the team made only one 3-pointer in the first half, Trae Campbell caught fire for the Bulldogs as he made three in the quarter.
Prairie Valley more than doubled its first half production as it led 31-26 in what was still a competitive game.
Then the fourth quarter saw the Bulldogs run away with it as Jarrett Horton scored 11 of the team’s 19 points, including making three 3-pointers. Christ Academy could not keep up as Prairie Valley won by double-digits 54-40.

Nocona
The Nocona Indians were able to start off district play right with a win at Olney on Friday.
The Indians beat the Cubs 51-42 in a game with a lot of runs for both teams.
Nocona was coming off a disappointing loss to Holliday in its previous game, but the Indians were hoping to play better against schools its own size.
It did not start well for the Indians. Olney jumped out to a 7-0 lead and it looked like Nocona was not playing engaged.
The Indians answered in the first quarter, coming back to tie the score at 7-7. In the second quarter, Nocona exploded for 20 points as four players made at least one basket each. The Indians limited the Cubs to only seven points again as they led 27-14 at halftime.
Nocona’s offense kept the pressure on in the third quarter even if the defense did not. Olney more than doubled its first half total in the quarter, scoring 17 points. Still, the Indians led by double-digits 42-31 heading into the final period.
Nocona’s offense slowed down in the fourth quarter as the team got sloppy with the ball. The Indians scored only nine points after two explosive quarters. Still, it was enough to beat the Cubs 51-42.

Forestburg
The Forestburg Longhorns dominated Community Christian at home on Friday to head into the holiday break feeling great.
The Longhorns dominated the Warriors 70-31, with most of the damage coming in three quarters as the starters sat out the fourth.
Forestburg jumped out to a 27-4 lead and it never got much better for Community Christian. The Longhorns slowed down a bit in the second quarter as the Warriors equaled them 14-14 during the period.
Forestburg had one more stretch of dominance in the third quarter, growing its lead as it outscored Community Christian 22-8. The Longhorns led 63-26.
The final period saw most of Forestburg’s starters sit to give the inexperienced bench some much needed minutes. While the Longhorns held the Warriors to only five points, the team only scored seven themselves.
Still, Forestburg won big 70-31.

Gold-Burg
The Gold-Burg Bears had a tough final game before district play on Thursday as they lost to Victory Christian Academy in Decatur.
The Patriots won 48-26 against the Bears they got off to a slow start that put them behind the eight-ball.
Gold-Burg was coming off a tough loss against Garner after having an up and down tournament at Saint Jo the previous week.
The first quarter was the lowest point for the Bears.
Victory Christian seemed one step ahead of Gold-Burg’s 3-2 zone, able to find the open player ahead of the defensive rotation and dribble into open spots.
The Patriots made three 3-pointers and seemed to get whatever they wanted.
On the other side, the Bears offense tried to attack Victory Christian off the dribble but could not get an easy or clean shot anywhere.
Every shot was tough and unfortunately none went in during the first eight minutes of the game.
The Patriots led 19-0 after the first quarter.
Thankfully, Gold-Burg had nowhere to go but up and the defense tightened up. The Bears used their size and fight inside to not allow easy shots near the basket as only two 3-pointers from Victory Christian were the only points given up.
On offense, Gold-Burg still was not able to shake the sticky man-to-man defense, though the team did earn three trips to the free throw line and made two baskets.
Still, the Bears were down 25-5 at halftime.
The shots started to go in during the second half for Gold-Burg as the team scored in double-figures in the final two quarters.
Unfortunately, the Patriots had one more successful offensive quarter in the third to make sure the Bears could not make the game close.
Victory Christian won 48-26 in the end.

Missing scores
The Bowie News did not receive scores from Friday’s games from Saint Jo and Bellevue coaches.

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

For more photos from the Prairie Valley game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6871309&T=1

For photos from the Gold-Burg game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6871307&T=1