SPORTS
Jackrabbits lose rematch to Jacksboro
The Bowie Jackrabbits lost a low-scoring rematch at Jacksboro on Friday night.
The Tigers never trailed as they won 3-1 in a game the Jackrabbits needed to win to keep their district title dreams alive.
Bowie’s only loss in the first round of district play, minus not playing Holliday, came against Jacksboro where the Tigers won 8-6 after getting a big lead in the first inning.
The Jackrabbits split with Jacksboro and Holliday the previous year allowed the team to get the second seed in the district. With the team still needing to play the Eagles twice in the next two weeks, Bowie knew the importance of the game.
Carson Sanders was able to get on for the Jackrabbits with a one out single. He would later steal second base to put himself into scoring position. Unfortunately, the next two batters flew out and struck out to end the chance.
Kynan DeMoss got the start on the mound and got into a jam in the first inning. After a leadoff single, a hit batter and a walk loaded the bases with one out. DeMoss induced a fly ball to centerfield. Brody Armstrong caught it cleanly and tried to gun down the runner on third tagging up and trying to score.
The throw was on target, but just a tad too late as catcher Logan Hutson’s lunge came up short to prevent the run. Jacksboro was up 1-0. DeMoss prevented any other runs as the next batter grounded out at third base to end the first inning.
Bowie answered back in the second inning. Kawlyer Swearingin led off with a single. He would later advance to second base on a passed ball. Troy Kesey then hit a ground ball that induced an error on the throw that put runners at the corners with no outs.
Devin Melton drove Swearingin in on a sacrifice fly to centerfield to make it 1-1. Before that, Kesey was thrown out trying to steal second base. The next batter popped out to second base for the third out.
DeMoss found himself in trouble again to start the inning. A leadoff single and walk put two runners on base with no outs. A passed ball then put both runners into scoring position.
After a strikeout, another sacrifice fly was hit to centerfield that allowed the runner on third base to tag up and score, giving Jacksboro back the lead 2-1. The next batter lined out to second base for out three.
The third inning saw Jackrabbits have no success with their bats as all three batters retired with little drama. On defense, Swearingin came in to pitch in relief.
The Tigers leadoff batter again got on base with a single. A later wild pitch allowed him to advance to second base. The next two batters were retired with a fly out and a strikeout.
A single followed that put runners at the corners with two outs. The runner on first would eventually take second base with no challenge to prevent a double-steal that could score a run. Swearingin came through and struck out the batter to get out of the inning with no runs given up.
In the fourth inning, after two fly outs, Swearingin started something with a two-out single. During the next at-bat, Swearingin was able to advance first to second and then to third base thanks to wild pitches. Unfortunately, the next batter struck out for out three.
Swearingin got some revenge on the mound. He not only struck out the side swinging, but did it throwing only 12 pitches.
The bats continued to have trouble for Bowie in the fifth inning. A fly out to the outfield and a pop up to the infield got the first two outs. Colton Richey tried to spark a two-out rally with a single up the middle. It led to nowhere though as the next batter grounded into a fielder’s choice for out three.
The defense continued to limit Jacksboro as the first two batters grounded out. A two-out walk could have come back to bite them if it had festered, but the next batter popped out to third base for out three to end the inning.
Bowie was running out of outs to give heading into the sixth inning, but needed just one run to change the context of the game. After the leadoff batter grounded out, DeMoss hit a single to left field. A wild pitch during the next at-bat put him on second base and into scoring position.
Needing a well-placed single at the least to tie the game up, unfortunately, the next two batters could not get him in. A pop out in foul territory near first base came followed by a groundout at second base for out three.
Jacksboro was able to capitalize on a minor mistake at the beginning of the inning. A leadoff walk was followed by a single into right field. Bowie’s outfielder had trouble gathering the ball rolling on the ground for an error that led to the runner on first base coming in to score a run to extend the Tiger’s lead to 3-1.
With the other baserunner ending up on third base and with no outs, it looked like Jacksboro was about to open up its lead before heading into the final inning.
Swearingin followed with a strikeout. The threat at third base was later eliminated as Hutson picked off the runner for out two.
The Tigers were not done threatening to score. A walk and an infield single followed to put two runners on base. Thankfully the next batter popped out to first base for out three.
Down two runs heading into the last inning, this was not the first time this team had been in that situation. Famously last year’s team, which is made up of all of the same players along with some new ones, won three games on walk-off hits heading into the last inning down.
It was not looking good though as the first batter flew out to centerfield and the next batter struck out. Armstrong was up next and hit a groundball to the shortstop that looked like it would be out three. The throw went over the first basemen’s head for an error and allowed Armstrong to advance to second base.
It gave Bowie at least one more chance to try and come back. Unfortunately, the next batter flew out to the outfield for out three to end the game.
Jacksboro won 3-1.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
The Nocona Indians were able to beat Saint Jo at home on Thursday night in a tight contest.
The Indians won 55-48 against the Panthers in a game where both teams played hard, but made plenty of early season mistakes.
Nocona came into the game following a low-scoring win against Bells earlier in the week 35-30. For a young Indians team that only has a few players with varsity experience this year, every early season win builds confidence.
For Saint Jo, the Panthers were still without several returning starters since football is still going on. Despite that, new Coach Jacob Nocktonick is trying to build what he can with his group of basketball first players that include several key players even when the football team is integrated.
Despite Saint Jo being the smaller school, overall it had the height advantage in the front line since Nocona features only one player, Kasch Johnson, who is built like a post player. That is nothing new for the Indians, who featured a short team the previous year as Coach Brody Wilson emphasizes full-court pressure on defense and pushing the ball in transition in his system that makes up for a lack of height and size.
Initially Nocona’s pace and energy, grabbing several offensive rebounds, got it the lead 9-3. Eventually, the Panthers adjusted and trailed only 12-11 after the first quarter.
Saint Jo got the lead early in the second quarter. Post Trent Gaston took advantage of his size advantage, especially when the Indians had Johnson out, and led 17-12. Both teams had trouble scoring in a rough second quarter as open perimeter shots just were not going in and shots at the rim were tough to convert.
The Panthers led 23-20 heading into halftime.
Both teams had better offensive success pushing the ball when it could in the second half.
Saint Jo broke Nocona’s press and punished the Indians with quick baskets. Nocona ran whenever it could and seemed to put up an array of perimeter shots and drives, getting offensive rebounds it seemed at will to keep the pressure up and infuriate the Panthers coach.
The Indians got a big push from Landon Fatheree in the second half. After scoring eight points in the first half to lead the team, he scored 10 of his team’s 14 points in the third quarter.
Nocona got the lead back, but only led 34-33 heading into the final period.
The Indians had a comfortable lead up 44-36 when Saint Jo’s Gaston fouled out with 4:56 left in the game. Still, the Panthers did not give up and a minute later had whittled Nocona’s lead down to one basket 44-41 with 3:45.
The game stayed a one-possession game for the next two minutes as Saint Jo had several chances to tie or take the lead not go through.
Nocona made its free throws down the stretch to win with a little more comfort, with the final score being 55-48.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News. To see more pictures, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870682&T=1
Nocona senior Meg Meekins signed her official letter of intent to play college basketball at Lubbock Christian University on Wednesday. Meekins, the daughter of Brandi and Lance, is a four-year starter on the volleyball and basketball court. She has earned several accolades like being named to the All State Teams for TGCA, TABC, Associated Press and was selected to the All Tournament Team at the UIL State Basketball Tournament in San Antonio last year.“The coaching staff and the community of the LCU program and just knowing you have a staff that coaches you, but also looks over you just like Coach (Kyle) Spitzer did here was a huge part in the recruiting process,” Meekins said. She plans to pursue a degree in either physical or occupational therapy.
For more pictures, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870680&T=1
The Bowie Lady Rabbits got more than they bargained for when they traveled to Bellevue on Tuesday night.
The Lady Rabbits escaped with the win 44-40, taking the lead with less than a minute to go after trailing whole game.
Bowie came into the game confident. The larger 3A school was supposed to play Windthorst, but had to reschedule because the Lady Trojans volleyball team was playing in the state tournament.
Finding a last minute replacement, the Lady Rabbits thought they would have an easy game playing the 1A program down the road. Little did they know.
Bellevue had a couple of players out with injury to limit its depth a bit and a new coach in Celsey Hoffman, but the Lady Eagles were coming off of nearly beating a Nocona team the previous week. While the Lady Indians were missing four starters who were still in volleyball, it still showed this was not a 1A team to take lightly.
Bellevue came out fast showing tough defensive pressure despite giving up size at nearly every position. Within a few minutes the Lady Eagles had used that pressure to force turnovers and convert those steals into transition opportunities.
Also, the energy showed in other areas as Bellevue seemed to grab every loose ball and fought for offensive rebounds despite lacking in height compared to Bowie.
After a little more than four minutes into the game the Lady Eagles led 15-0. The Lady Rabbits had barely been able to set up their offense or attempt a shot against the pressure.
Bowie Coach Matthew Miller had to reset his shell-shocked team during multiple timeouts. The young ballhandlers was reminded how the team was going to break the press defense so it could set up its offense.
Bellevue led 19-4 after the first quarter, led by Mary Grace Broussard and Brittany Gill who each scored six points.
The Lady Rabbits settled down and made some good progress in the second quarter. Their defense switched between man-to-man and 1-3-1 to keep the Lady Eagles off balance. With them taking care of the ball better, there were less chances for Bellevue in transition and the Lady Eagles offense struggled to consistently find ways to score against Bowie’s length.
The Lady Rabbits offense found some success as well. Five different players made at least one basket and the team made two 3-pointers.
While the game was physical from the start, now that Bowie knew what type of game it was in the team responded back. It was not pretty and only enough fouls were called to make the game watchable, but individual foul trouble affected Bellevue harder than the Lady Rabbits in the second quarter.
The Lady Eagles still led heading into halftime, but Bowie had gotten it down to single digits trailing 25-19.
The third quarter was more even between the two teams as both had trouble consistently scoring baskets. Bellevue made three baskets and a couple of free throws to keep ahead.
The Lady Rabbits got a big lift from Lanie Moore, who knocked in all three of her 3-pointers in the quarter, scoring nine of the team’s 12 points.
Bowie still trailed, but had cut the lead down to one point earlier in the quarter and one basket 34-31 heading into the fourth quarter.
Bellevue grew the lead to 38-32 early in the final period. The Lady Rabbits struggled to get anything going offensively and trailed 40-34 midway through the quarter.
Bowie’s Kendall Fallis made a 3-pointer in transition to cut the lead to one basket 40-37.
The score stayed there for the next several minutes even as the Lady Eagles had two starters, Karis Denson and Mattie Broussard, foul out of the game.
With a little more than a minute left, the Lady Rabbits drew up and out of bounds play that got Laney Segura an open shot in the corner. Despite not having made a basket all game, she sunk the 3-pointer to tie the game at 40-40 with a minute still to play.
Bowie had been in a pressure defense for the second half of the fourth quarter to prevent Bellevue from passively running clock. Still in the defense, the team next stole the in-bounds pass and Railey Martin made the undefended layup to give the Lady Rabbits their first lead of the game 42-40 with 48 seconds left.
The Lady Eagles could not tie the score on their next offensive possession. Bowie would made two more free throws to make the final 44-40.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News. For more pictures from the game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870678&T=1
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