An aggressive defense and clutch free throw shooting down the stretch helped West Orange-Stark remain undefeated in district basketball action. The Mustangs defeated the Bridge City Cardinals 48-43 Tuesday night at Mustangs Gym.
Senior K. J. Miller had a big hand in the victory finishing as the leading scorer with 17 points. Eight of those points came in the fourth quarter including two free throws and two buckets in the last two minutes of the game. Miller’s three-point basket at the buzzer to end the first half gave the Mustangs the lead 18-15 which they never relinquished after that.
Sophomore Bretlin White tossed in 13 points and was 9 of 12 from the charity stripe. His last two free throws put the Mustangs up by six in the last minute. As a team the Mustangs shot 64 percent from the free throw line making 18 of 28 on the night.
The West Orange-Stark defense features many of the same players that were so tough on football opponents during the state championship run. The Mustangs forced 24 turnovers by the Cardinals, several resulting in fast break opportunities at the other end for West Orange-Stark.
Coach Tramaine Hancock played ten players in the game. Malik Phillips contributed 9 points off the bench. Phillips made two free throws in the final period and put back a rebound with a little over three minutes to play to help the Mustangs regain a six-point advantage 38-32.
Bridge City played with some foul trouble. Brandon Vela fouled out early in the fourth quarter with 7 points. Max Baker got three fouls early and sat down for several minutes in the first half. Chason Burch played in place of both and finished with 7 points. Baker joined Dane Piper as the only two Cardinals in double figures. Piper tallied 11 points including 8 in the final stanza. Piper scored 10 points which featured the Cardinals’ only two three-pointers in the contest.
West Orange-Stark (2-0) will travel to OF (0-2) Friday. Bridge City (0-2) will host 0-2 Hamshire-Fannett.
BC 8 7 11 17- 43
WOS 5 13 13 17- 48
–
LCM held off Orangefield 57-53. Katon Brown lead the Bears with 18 pts and 11 boards and 5 assists. Braden Bridges added 17. Payton Lathrop was the leading scorer for OF with 21 and Alex Catt scored 13.
–
Deweyville evened its district record at 1-1 with a 48-32 win over West Hardin. Caleb Winkle had 19 pts, 10 boards, 6 assists and 5 steals.
–
Silsbee 124 Hamshire-Fannett 62
–
Ozen 65 Vidor 53
–
GIRLS
–
OF beat LCM 44-24. For the Bobcats, Paris Fregia 12 points, 2 steals, and 2 rebounds. Emmi Lummus 5 points, 2 steals, and 4 rebounds. Jayme Deutsch 5 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block. Haleigh and Kayleigh Hutchison with 4 points apiece.
–
BC 69 WOS 26 – For BC Kassidy Wilbur had 8 rebounds, 5 steals, and 18 points, Maysen Tyler with 6 rebounds, 5 steals, and 15 points, and Rylee Oceguera with 2 rebounds, 3 steals and 21 points.
–
Social Media