Mustangs trip up Bobcats with second-half explosion
Published 9:45 pm Tuesday, January 11, 2022
- Van Wade/Orange Leader WO-S’ Adrian Hernandez sets up the WO-S offense as Orangefield’s Brayden Parker defends at Bobcat Gym.
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ORANGEFIELD – The West Orange-Stark Mustangs erased a five-point halftime deficit with tenacious defense in the second half and utilized a 20-8 spurt in the third quarter to pull away from the Orangefield Bobcats 57-46 in District 22-4A action at Bobcat Gym Tuesday night.
The Mustangs (12-11, 2-1) were down 26-21 to the Bobcats (18-8, 2-2) at halftime and trailed by as much as 18-9 early in the second quarter before exploding in the second half, outscoring the Bobcats 36-20.
The Mustangs wore down the Bobcats with full-court pressure and it paid off in the third quarter when they forced Orangefield into nine turnovers in the period.
The Mustangs put together a balanced attack to thwart the Bobcats as no WO-S player finished in double figures.
Post Rocedric Pappillion had nine points, all coming in the second half, and he yanked down a game-high 13 rebounds. Michael Wardlow notched nine points and nine rebounds. Point guard Adrian Hernandez had eight points and four boards. Aundrew Samuel had seven points while Joshua Holified had six. Trinton Garrett had five points and four boards and Darren Anderson had five boards.
Zane Wrinkle paced the Bobcats, who were without the services of standout guard Pete Ragusa and lost Cameron Dischler to an ankle injury in the first quarter, with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Koen Maddox had nine points. Payton Wrinkle notched seven points and six rebounds while Morgan Sampson had six points and seven boards.
The Bobcats led 13-9 at the end of the first quarter and led by five at intermission.
The Mustangs gained a 41-34 lead with heading to the fourth after their third-quarter spark.
The Mustangs controlled the boards, finishing with a 42-31 rebounding edge. The Bobcats finished with 16 turnovers while WO-S had 14. WO-S was just 8-of-14 from the free-throw line while the Bobcats were 10-of-12.
The Mustangs, winners of two straight in 22-4A play, wuill play host to the Silsbee Tigers, ranked No. 2 in the state in the latest Class 4A poll, Friday night at Mustang Gym while the Bobcats will look to bounce back with a road trip to Little Cypress-Mauriceville.
Silsbee (3-0 in district) throttled Lumberton (1-3 in district) 123-62 Tuesday.
