Mineola beats Whitesboro in regional hoops

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The Mineola Yellowjackets are in Prosper tonight (Friday) to face the Whitesboro Bearcats in the regional basketball seminfinals.

After one quarter the score is Whitesboro 10, Mineola 6.

Halftime score Whitesboro 21, Mineola 14. Whitesboro hit a long three at the buzzer.

Whitesboro 25, Mineola 23 midway through the third period.

Mineola grabs the lead in the third quarter, 30-29.

Mineola up 39-38, just over four minutes to go.

51-43 Mineola with 24 seconds to go.

Jackets get the win 55-45, await the winner of the Ponder-Hooks game for the regional final at 1 p.m. Saturday.

With the win, the Jackets earn the farthest advance in school history, eclipsing the 1961 team which lost in overtime in the regional semifinals to Jacksboro.

Despite not playing their best to start, Mineola trailed by just seven at half, including a long three-point buzzer-beater by Whitesboro, "and we didn't play ball," said Mineola head coach Ryan Steadman.

So, they made half-time adjustments.

He told the 'Jackets, "They can't handled pressure, we're going to get after their tail in the full court. We're going to come back and win the game, bottom line, that's what's going to happen."

And it did.

Steadman was pleased with the Jackets' effort, saying, "You could tell they didn't want to lose."

They got in the Bearcats' faces, made them panic, and swung the momentum Mineola's way.

Steadman liked their execution in the fourth quarter, playing with the lead, not taking bad shots or turning the ball over. They were able to get to the free throw line and get it to TJ Moreland, "and that's who seals the deal for us every time."

For a second consecutive game, Moreland was lights out from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.