BRIDGE CITY – Going on big scoring explosions in the middle two quarters, the Hardin-Jefferson Hawks scooted past the Bridge City Cardinals 70-47 in District 22-4A action at Cardinal Gym Friday night.

The Hawks (18-8, 3-0) outscored the Cardinals (10-14, 0-3) 48-20 in the second and third quarter to pull away for the win.

The Cardinals kept it close as the Hawks led 15-13 at the end of the first quarter. The Hawks led 21-18 early in the second period and closed the quarter with a 13-2 spurt to lead 34-20 at halftime.

H-J then went on a 29-13 tear in the third quarter to lead 63-33 going into the fourth.

The Cardinals outscored the Hawks 14-7 in the final eight minutes.

Ethan Oceguera scored a game-high 19 points and snared seven rebounds to spark the Cardinal arsenal.

Austin Richardson had a double-double for Bridge City. He hit three three-pointers and scored 12 points and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.

Nick Barton added seven points and five boards for the Cardinals while Grant Boudreaux had six rebounds.

Post Austin Samaha led the balanced Hawks with a double-double of his own as he finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He had 12 points and seven boards in the first half.

Guard Baxter Wirth had 13 points for the Hawks while Izaak Ogle was their other double-figure scorer with 11 points.

Jaystan Davis and R.J. Sears each had nine points and six rebounds for H-J. Micahel McIntosh added six points and six boards while J.P. Morgan had six rebounds.

The Hawks finished with a 42-38 rebounding edge. The Cardinals finished with 21 turnovers while the Hawks had 15.

Bridge City was 9-of-15 from the free-throw line while H-J was just 7-of-15.

The Cardinals will visit Little Cypress-Mauriceville Tuesday while the Hawks return home to play host to West Orange-Stark.