By Robert Morgan | Published Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Bridgeport High School boys' basketball team had a little more offensive success Friday night in the final meeting of the season against Burkburnett. However, the group could not find enough defense to contain the state's fourth-ranked team.
The Bulls scored at least 10 points in each quarter, but that was not enough to overcome the Bulldogs' 50 first-half points in an 88-56 home loss.
Bridgeport shot the ball considerably better than the first meeting three weeks ago. The locals were unable to make up the difference in the paint where Burk controlled the boards with its considerable heighth advantage.
"We got out-rebounded and had turnovers that resulted in points for them," said Bridgeport coach Brandt Lockhart. "We shot the ball well against a very good team."
Bridgeport was also swept for the season by Iowa Park Friday night. After trailing by four points at halftime, the Hawks outscored the Bulls 14-2 in the third quarter to pull away for a 56-43 win over the Bulls.
The losses dropped the Bulls to 1-8 in District 5-3A play.
Bridgeport's defensive struggles started at the beginning against Burkburnett. The group was outscored 27-13 in the first quarter, and the game was never close.
Chase Pemberton was a big reason the Bulldogs never shut down the Bulls. The standout senior torched one of the state's best teams with a game-high 27 points.
Pemberton was the main contributor on offense in the second quarter where Bridgeport scored a game-high 17 points. Daniel Scott also stepped up inside the paint to help slow the Bulldogs before trailing 50-30 at halftime.
The Bulls were not able to make up any ground in the second half but did keep Burkburnett at bay most of the way. They were outscored 19-16 in the third quarter and 19-10 in the fourth. Scott was second in scoring for Bridgeport with 13 points. Collin White and Eddy Brumley pitched in four points each, while Jared Hudson had three, Kyle Parker and Jason Mitchell had two each and Jace Hudson had one. White also had a game-high seven assists, three more than Parker with four.
