Mineola boys grabbed the district lead in basketball Friday with a hard-fought 53-48 victory at Mt. Vernon coupled with Quitman’s 52-51 win over Chapel Hill.

That left the Yellowjackets at 7-1 and Chapel Hill at 6-2.

The two will meet again in Chapel Hill Tuesday, Feb. 8. Mineola hosts Harmony Friday after a bye on Tuesday, Feb. 1. They travel to Winona Feb. 11 and wind up the regular season Feb. 15, hosting Quitman.

Defenses prevailed to open Friday’s match, with Mineola edging ahead 9-8 after one period and 20-14 at the half.

Three points to open the second half gave Mineola its largest lead at 23-14, but two quick threes brought Mt. Vernon back.

It was a repeating pattern throughout the second half. Mineola would stretch the lead, and long-range shots brought the Tigers within range.

After Mineola forged ahead 29-20, Mt. Vernon scored nine unanswered points to tie it.

The Tigers never could grab the lead, and after three periods Mineola led 32-31.

The Jackets found a way to get six-point leads at 42-36 and 47-41.

With a 49-43 lead, Mineola yielded five points as the margin was trimmed to one.

T.J. Moreland swished four free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

In the girls game, Mineola lost for the second time to Mt. Vernon, 35-29.

With two games to go the Lady Jackets are securely in fourth place with a 5-5 district mark.