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BRIDGE CITY – After racing out to a big first-quarter lead, the Bridge City Cardinals rallied back late to capture a 45-42 win over the Tarkington Longhorns at Cardinal Gym Monday afternoon.

The win was the first one of the year for the Cardinals (1-2), while the Longhorns (3-1) absorbed their first loss.

The Cardinals roared out to a 21-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, nailing six three-point bombs, including two by Rayburn Hebert.

The Longhorns went on a 26-17 tear in the middle two quarters to pull to within 38-35 entering the fourth.

Tarkington then grabbed the lead twice, including 42-40 with 1:37 remaining on a Corey Armstrong putback.

The Cardinals, who had not hit a three-pointer since the first quarter, got a huge one from the right corner by Hebert to go up 43-42 with 1:07 left.

Tarkington than had a couple turnovers and a pair of missed shots down the stretch as Bridge City stepped up its defense. Cardinal guard Aiden Gutierrez helped seal the game with a pair of free-throws with 0:07 remaining.

Hebert and point guard Walker Britten led the Cardinals with nine points apiece. Lincoln Breaux had eight points and six rebounds for Bridge City while Ethan Oceguera chimed in with seven points and 11 boards. Britten added four rebounds for the Cardinals.

Armstrong had nine points and 11 rebounds for the Longhorns and Steven Pavlat also had nine points. Braden Bostwick pumped in eight points and grabbed six boards and Carlos Preciado added six rebounds.

The bigger Longhorns finished with a 35-25 rebounding edge.

However, the Cardinals forced Tarkington into 22 turnovers while Bridge City had just 16.

The Cardinals 7-of-14 from the free-throw line while Tarkington went 5-of-9.