Sophomore Alex Catt makes a tough shot near the end of the game as the Bobcats, without a senior on the roster and two starters out, outlasted the favored Cardinals in Bridge City Tuesday.
OF | 10 | 13 | 6 | 10 | 39 | |
BC | 14 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 37 |
The Orangefield Bobcats and the Bridge City Cardinals no longer play for the Bayou Bowl in football, but the rivalry is still very intense. Those attending Tuesday night’s basketball game at the Cardinal’s Gym witnessed the two schools battle down to the final buzzer as the Bobcats pulled off the upset defeating the Cardinals 39-37.
Last Friday the Cardinals won their game at the free throw line hitting 20 of 33 free throws. Tuesday night they pretty much lost the contest at the charity stripe. Bridge City only was successful on 3 of 19 free throws, which included missing all six in the final 10 seconds when trailing by two points. The Bobcats shot like they were winning stuffed animals for their girl friends hitting 15 of 21 from the charity stripe.
Orangefield tied the game at 37 on two free throws by freshman Blake Bradley with 1:30 to play in the game. It would be Bradley’s only points of the game, but not his only contribution. Thirty seconds later Bradley intercepted a pass near the Bridge City basket to give the Bobcats the ball with a minute to play. Wesley Frillou drove the left baseline and scored on a sensational bank shot off the glass to give the Bobcats the lead 39-37 with just 15 seconds remaining. Those final 15 ticks took more like 15 minutes with free throws and timeouts being exchanged between the two teams.
Both schools were coming off big district victories last week. Bridge City beat West Orange-Stark to take the lead for the third playoff position in district, and Orangefield earned its first district victory of the season against Hamshire-Fannett. The Cardinals rode the momentum from their win last Friday to take the early lead and enjoyed a 20-12 advantage after a spectacular shot by Brandon Vela with 3:42 to play in the second quarter.
The Bobcats then went on an 11-2 run to take a 23-22 lead to close out the first half scoring. Aven Lathrop hit a basket, was fouled, and sank the free throw for a three-point play. His brother Payton nailed a 3-point basket and later added two free throws to tie the game before Mason Gonzales made one of two free throws to give Orangefield its first lead of the game.
Zach Dischler for the Bobcats and Chason Burch for the Cardinals traded 3-point buckets late in the third quarter to keep the game tied at 29-29 heading into the final quarter. Justin Romero put back a rebound from a teammate’s missed free throw to give Bridge City a 36-33 lead with just under three minutes left in the game. That is when Orangefield started its winning rally.
Payton Lathrop was the high scorer in the game with 13 points for the Bobcats. Two of the Orangefield posts chipped in with 6 points from Alex Catt and 5 points by Mason Gonzales. Hunter Wiegreffe was the only Cardinal in double figures with 10 points. Dane Piper contributed 7 points for Bridge City.
Friday night the Bridge City Cardinals travel to Hamshire-Fannett to play the Longhorns who are winless in district action. Orangefield will try to make it three in a row at Little Cypress-Mauriceville on Friday night. -Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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