By Caleb Adams

Leader Correspondent

BRIDGE CITY — The Bridge City Cardinals toppled the West Orange-Stark Mustangs 56-50 Friday night in a tight District 22-4A encounter.

The game went back and forth all game, but the Cardinals led at the end of each quarter, only losing the lead for 25 seconds in the third quarter.

The loss still keeps WO-S (9-12, 4-3) in third-place in the 22-4A standings while the Cardinals (13-10, 3-4) remain in fourth.

Hunter Weigreffe lead the Cardinals with 18 total points with six rebounds, and Dane Piper had 16 points with 10 rebounds on the night. Weigreffe and Piper dominated the boards on both sides.

Kentavious Miller led the Mustangs with 19 points including multiple drives down the lane forcing nine trips to the line and converting on seven of them.

The Cardinals started out hot with Piper putting up four early points in the paint. The Mustangs had a rough first quarter only finding seven points throughout the quarter. Six of those came from Malik Phillips long range-threes

The second quarter Weigreffe found his shot putting up seven points on his own, three coming from the free-throw line. Miller put up five in the quarter with three coming from the free -throw line as well. Miller made it his job to work the middle of the paint and force the Cardinal defense to respond.   Bridge City headed into the half up 25-18.

West Orange-Stark would fire back finally taking the lead for the first time all game late in the third with the help of two more Phillips three-point daggers. Weigreffe with the help of Max Baker, who hit two crucial shots late, would help the Cardinals find the lead to end the third up 36-35.

Miller and the Mustangs were not going to fall willingly. Miller would put up 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter alone, mostly through driving the lane, but found one long three.

The Cardinals up 49-46 with 1:15 left in the game, had to make sure they didn’t allow any big shots to fall. Weigreffe would be sent to the free-throw line for five total shots throughout the quarter, and crucially drained them all. The Cardinals, as a team, only missed six of the 21 taken.

The Mustangs tried all they could to find points late, but came up short. This district clash showed all the signs of a quality basketball game. The Cardinals played with a chip on their solider all game and in the end helped the edge out the Mustangs.

The Cardinals will visit last-place Hamshire-Fannett Tuesday while WO-S welcomes in Orangefield.