NEDERLAND — Jase Miguez took the high road Friday when asked to describe how it felt to go for 28 points against his bitter rivals. The Nederland senior said he would do anything to help his team win, and he did just that.

Miguez and the Bulldogs defeated the Port Neches-Groves Indians 60-46 in a key District 22-5A matchup.

“This was a big win,” Miguez said. “It gives us momentum going to Baytown Lee. Lee is a decent team that played tough against Port Neches. PN-G came out tonight and played a really good game.”

Miguez not only did it with his scoring because he also used his defense to get some distance between the Bulldogs and Indians in the second half.

The Indians took a 23-21 lead into halftime, and to start the third, Miguez was a part of three PN-G (14-10, 6-5) turnovers that directly led to three easy layups for Miguez. Nederland (21-10, 7-4) was able to take a 27-23 lead and then scored another five straight.

Adam Morse (15 points) stopped the bleeding for the Indians with a basket to make it 32-25.

The damage had been done, though, and the Bulldogs went on to outscore the Indians 21-10 in the third to take a 42-33 lead into the final quarter.

“We played with a little more intensity there in the second half,” Nederland coach Brian English said. “We stayed man-to-man, but we just got up in them a little more and that was the difference in the game. The kids showed some heart.”

English was also impressed with the way Miguez played on both ends of the court.

“That could have been Jase’s best defensive game,” English said. “He gave us a spark and it carried on throughout the second half.”

Kevin Howard was another big piece to the Nederland puzzle Friday. He scored 14 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. Both teams grabbed 27 boards.

“Kevin has really come on this year,” English said. “He is getting better game-by-game. We are going to need him if we are going to get a playoff spot.”

The loss dropped PN-G out of a tie for third with the Bulldogs and Baytown Lee Ganders. Lee defeated Lumberton Friday to remain in a tie for third with the Bulldogs.

Ryan Abel led PN-G with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

The Indians were 17 of 44 from the field and 7 of 20 from behind the arc. PN-G took only eight free throws and made five.

Nederland struggled early to get shots to fall but ended the night 19 of 39 and was 19 of 27 from the charity stripe.

The Bulldogs are at Baytown Lee Tuesday and the Indians are at home against Ozen.