The Mineola Yellowjackets used quickness and hustle to defeat the Van Vandals 59-45 in Van Zandt County last Tuesday. The Jackets bested a well-trained Vandals squad through aggressive defense and by out-competing the Vandals on the boards. 

Mineola’s plan against Van was simple: take the ball to the basket. The opening minutes saw the Yellowjackets driving the ball to the basket from the post (Dawson Pendergrass), from the wing (Braydon Alley) and from the point (Keke Martin).

Initially, Van matched the Jackets’ intensity, and the opening quarter was practically even. While the Jackets’ full court press created turnovers, Van was able to break it and score by getting behind the press. After five minutes of play, the score was notched: 9-9.

The Jackets leveraged 3-point shots from Zay Lipscomb and Ainsley Steward to take an 18-16 lead at the quarter break. 

Both squads struggled to score in a second quarter which featured excellent defense. Pendergrass managed an inside score off a Lipscomb assist, Martin scored twice – on a beautiful drive and with a soft mid-range jump shot – and Lipscomb recorded the last points of the half with a clean 3-pointer. 

The first half ended with some amazing defensive work by Martin, as he hounded the Vandal point guards and frustrated Van’s efforts to start their offense. Mineola limited Van to only four points in the second quarter, one inside bucket and one score off a turnover. 

At the half Mineola led 27-20.

The Jackets came out and played some of their best basketball in the early third quarter. Steward hit two free throws after being fouled leading a break. Pendergrass followed with a steal and score. Isaiah Gardner stole the ball on the press and fed Lipscomb for a score. D.J. Newsome scored inside and, in a flash, Mineola had taken a 14-point lead.

Van came back with some savvy work off of inbound plays and by creating passing turnovers in the Mineola offensive zone. At the quarter break, the Jackets led 41-33.

The Mineola press won the game in the first five minutes of the final quarter. They created four turnovers in this span, and it fueled an 11-point run. 

The Yellowjacket press is based on team quickness, hustle and anticipation. It is practically impossible to effectively press in the fourth quarter without having a high level of conditioning. The Jackets are in basketball ‘shape,’ and they owe this win to that conditioning.     

Braydon Alley’s inside work during this run merits attention. In addition to scoring twice inside on offensive rebound put-backs, Alley also blocked a shot and dominated the backside defensive boards. He led Mineola scorers with 16 points. 

Van made a late-game run after both teams subbed out most of their starters. Gardner got the last basket for the Jackets after Lipscomb smoothly slipped him a nice assist. 

Mineola has all the components needed for a successful hardcourt season. Improvements are still needed, especially in passing selection in the offensive zone, but Mineola fans should enjoy a year of great basketball. 

The Jackets are next at home on Friday, Dec. 16 hosting Grand Saline.