The Bowie Jackrabbits came back from the Christmas break with a brutal four game stretch at the Whataburger tournament on Friday and Saturday.
The Jackrabbits went 1-3 overall with all but one opponent coming from a bigger classification than Bowie.
The Jackrabbits had to knock off the rust fast as they got a rematch against 4A Burkburnett to start off the tournament. The athletic and full-court pressing Bulldogs like to push the pace and the teams combined to score 178 points in the team’s first game two weeks before, a game Burkburnett won.
While Friday’s game did not reach the first game’s high score total, it was still a high scoring game. A lull in the second quarter from the Jackrabbits proved devastating as the Bulldogs offense proved too much, winning 88-67.
It took everything Bowie had in the first game to keep the score as close as it was against the high energy from Burkburnett. Unfortunately, the Jackrabbits eight man roster had one more game to play that day against an even better team.
State ranked and 4A power Argyle was coming off its first loss of the season and took out its frustration on Bowie.
The tall, rangy and aggressive team hit the Jackrabbits before they could see it coming.
Bowie could not keep the Eagles off the glass or from scoring as the lead grew and grew throughout the game, eventually winning 84-38. Along with a couple of players getting banged up before the game was over, the Jackrabbits just barely survived what Coach Jonathon Horton said had been the toughest day of the season.
Bowie came in Saturday and got its rematch with 3A Ponder. The Lions had beaten the Jackrabbits 57-47 in Ponder back on Dec. 17. After a rough first day the Bowie team needed some positivity and it manufactured it in the way it played the Lions.
The Jackrabbits started the game on a great note on offense and defense and led 20-11 at halftime. Ponder showed some heart and came back to take the lead heading into the fourth quarter up 30-27.
Bowie finished the game strong on a 20-5 run to win by double-digits 47-35 to pick up its first win of the tournament against a team that it had lost to recently.
The win allowed the Jackrabbits to play private school Liberty Christian for fifth place in the consolation bracket. The Warriors definitely had the height advantage coming into the game, but that had been true for Bowie most of the tournament.
From the opening tip it was back and fourth. Both teams shot the ball pretty well, with the Jackrabbits making half of their three-pointers to keep pace with the more efficient shooting of Liberty Christian.
Bowie’s one point lead at halftime went away as the Warriors took a 39-35 lead into the fourth quarter. It was close enough to go either way, but Liberty Christian held on to win 52-49.
With a district race that looks to be more wide open than ever this year, playing against all of these teams that are better than anyone they will see in district hopefully has prepared the team well. At the least, no one in district should intimidate them.
“I think the kids are learning not to judge our opponents by their appearance or records,” Horton said.
With four games to go until then, the opponents will stay tough. Bowie next plays at Celina at 12:45 p.m. on Jan. 3.
Whataburger Holiday.

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