The Mineola Yellowjackets made quite a splash against the Whitesboro Bearcats at the regional basaketball semifinals Friday in Prosper. The Jackets put together a dominating second half to defeat Whitesboro 55-45.

Whitesboro came out strong and largely took it to the Mineola side in the opening quarter. The Bearcats appeared relaxed and poised, while the Jackets seemed a bit on edge.

The Bearcats opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and built a 10-4 lead with scores on a backdoor drive and a finish from a Mineola turnover.

Mineola registered scores from Dawson Pendergrass on a short jumper assisted by Braydon Alley, a contested drive by TJ Moreland and a short jump shot by Moreland off the glass.

At the quarter break Whitesboro led 10-6.

Two reassuring notes from that first quarter were the continued rebounding dominance by Alley – he corralled six rebounds in that opening quarter, and the defensive work by Pendergrass against the Whitesboro post.  

The second quarter started with a great defensive stand by the Jackets. Back-to-back shot blocks by Pendergrass and Isaiah Gardner set a new tone in the game. Shortly thereafter Pendergrass scored on an alley-oop and it was a 2-point game.   

Great individual effort by Gardner and Zay Lipscomb seemed to shed the uneasiness of the opening minutes. However, Yellowjacket shots still were not falling, and Whitesboro took a 21-14 lead into the half.

The opening sequence of the third quarter reset the game. Pendergrass scored inside after another nice assist from Alley. Lipscomb stole the ball on the press and found Alley ahead for a basket.

Mineola became the aggressor. Keke Martin found Pendergrass for a lay-in and a 3-point play. With the free throw, Mineola took a 26-25 lead midway through the third.  

In one of the most athletic plays of the night, on the next possession, Lipscomb sprinted the length of the court to block a Whitesboro lay-in attempt after they had broken the Mineola press. 

Martin hit a beauty of a jump shot from the lane to conclude the Jackets’ scoring in the third. Mineola outscored the Bearcats by eight points in the quarter and led 30-29 at the quarter break.

The final 8:00 was a jewel. Both teams leveraged their strengths in a game which was in the balance until less than a minute to play. 

Lipscomb hit a rare Mineola 3-pointer to answer Whitesboro’s initial score in the fourth. Moreland then nicked the ball away at mid-court and demonstrated some crazy body control to finish at the basket.

Two offensive rebound put-backs by Pendergrass gave Mineola a 3-point edge with four minutes to play. A break ahead by Alley which resulted in a 3-point play gave the Jackets a 4-point lead with just over a minute remaining.

Whitesboro began to purposely foul. Moreland hit six free throws to secure the win. 

Pendergrass led Mineola scorers with 19 points, followed by Moreland with 17. Alley contributed 11, Lipscomb 4, while Gardner and Martin each recorded 2. 

The victory was another excellent team effort for the Jackets. They received solid contributions throughout the line-up. The team had truly earned the right to battle for the regional title.