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ORANGEFIELD – Getting hot in a big 22-point fourth quarter, the Orangefield Bobcats moved up to the second-place position in District 22-4A with a 49-44 victory over the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears at Bobcat Gym Tuesday night.

Both teams played outstanding defense throughout the night but the Bobcats (24-9, 8-3) hit several crucial shots down the stretch to fend off the Bears (21-10, 7-3), who are now in third-place, a half game back of the Bobcats.

Peyton Wrinkle had a superb game for the Bobcats on his Senior Night as he poured in 20 points and buried six three-pointers.

LC-M junior standout Ben Elliott had another grand night for the Bears as he filtered in a game-high 24 points to go along with seven rebounds.

The Bobcats trailed at the end of the first three quarters and were trailing 29-27 entering the fourth before their offense caught on fire late.

Wrinkle and Pete Ragusa drilled back-to-back three-point missiles that gave the Bobcats the momentum, putting them up 43-39 and Zane Wrinkle sank a couple big free-throws to push the Bobcat lead to 45-39 with 0:48 remaining.

LC-M’s Kaine Humberson answered nicely on the other end, burying a three-point bomb of his own to trim it to 45-42 with 0:37 left.

Ragusa then drained a free-throw and Zane Wrinkle sank two more charity shots to help seal the deal for the Bobcats, who defeated the Bears 52-32 at LC-M in the first half of 22-4A play.

Ragusa finished with 12 points and hit two big treys for the Bobcats in the fourth while Zane Wrinkle finished with seven points.Post Miguel Molina bruised his way inside for nine points and a game-high eight rebounds for the Bears. Humberson had six points and five boards while Alantheon Winn had five rebounds for LC-M.

Koen Maddox led the Bobcats with seven rebounds while Morgan Sampson hauled down six.

The Bears led 12-8 after the first quarter and 20-18 at the half.

The Bears finished with a 26-22 rebounding edge. LC-M finished with 15 turnovers while the Bobcats handled the ball well all night, finishing with just six.

The Bobcats finished 8-of-11 from the free-throw line while the Bears were 9-of-13.

Orangefield can wrap up the second-place playoff berth with a win at Vidor (1-9 in district) Friday.

The Bears, who have clinched a playoff berth already as well, will host first-place and second-ranked Silsbee (9-0 in district) Friday before closing out the regular season Feb. 15 at Bridge City. Wins over Silsbee and Bridge City and a loss by Orangefield to Vidor would give the Bears second-place.