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ORANGEFIELD – Utilizing a strong defensive outing, the Orangefield Bobcats clinched a playoff berth Tuesday night by taking down the Lumberton Raiders 47-36 in District 22-4A action at Bobcat Gym.

The Bobcats (22-9, 6-3) hunkered down on the Raiders (3-6 in district) all night, especially in the first half when they held a 28-15 cushion at the half.

The Raiders staged a small rally and cut the Bobcat lead to seven midway through the fourth quarter but Orangefield played a great “stall ball game” down the stretch to nail down the win.

The Bobbcats had a balanced attack in the win. Payton Wrinkle led the way with a team-high 12 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds.

Pete Ragusa chimed in with 10 points. Zane Wrinkle notched seven points and five boards. Koen Maddox had six points and five rebounds. Morgan Sampson pulled down six rebounds and Daniel Reyes came off the bench and shined on defense while contributing five points and five boards.

Aidan Millican scored a game-high 14 points and snagged a game-high nine rebounds for the Raiders.

Cade Harmon tossed in nine points and had seven boards while Brady Fusilier contributed eight points and four boards.

The Bobcats darted out to a 15-9 cushion by the end of the first quarter as Payton Wrinkle scored eight points, canning two three-point missiles in the process while Millican had seven points in the period for the Raiders.

Orangefield went on a 13-6 spurt in the second quarter as Maddox and Ragusa scored four points apiece and the Bobcats held the Raiders to just two field goals in the period.

The Raiders managed to trim it to 40-30 by the end of the third quarter as Millican, Fusilier and Eli Quinn combined for 13 points in the period.

Orangefield outscored Lumberton 7-6 in the final eight minutes. Scoring all seven of their points from the line and playing “keepaway” from the visitors.

The Bobcats outrebounded the Raiders 33-31. Orangefield shook off 18 turnovers while the Raiders had 14.

Orangefield finished 9-of-15 from the free-throw line while the Raiders were 7-of-8.

The Bobcats will head to West Orange-Stark Friday as they continue to jockey for playoff positioning with three games left on the schedule while the Raiders return home to face first-place Silsbee.