Mineola boys open hoops season with a win

Posted 12/9/21

Before last Tuesday’s game at Rains High School, the Mineola Yellowjackets had not done much more than a shoot-around. The leadership in the athletic department and basketball program had delayed the start of the basketball season to allow a one-week breather for the multi-sport athletes after the extended football season. 

It looks like it was a week well spent.

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Mineola boys open hoops season with a win

Posted

Before last Tuesday’s game at Rains High School, the Mineola Yellowjackets had not done much more than a shoot-around. The leadership in the athletic department and basketball program had delayed the start of the basketball season to allow a one-week breather for the multi-sport athletes after the extended football season. 

It looks like it was a week well spent. The Yellowjackets came home from their opening game of their campaign with a 62-57 win over a talented Rains Wildcat squad.

They did it with timely rebounding and a fantastic offensive performance from junior T.J. Moreland. 

Moreland ended the night with 30 points – the only Jacket who scored in double figures. It was the manner in which he scored which was truly noteworthy. Yes, he hit a couple of jump shots, including two three-pointers, but he literally drove the Jackets to that win. 

Time after time, Moreland drove the lane, from both sides of the key and finished at the basket (or under the basket) after splitting the Wildcat defense. Rains was prepared and challenged him at every turn, but he simply used body leverage to exploit the narrowest of gaps in the defense and finished with accuracy and strength.

There were other reasons, of course, for the Mineola win. Seven other Jackets contributed to the score line. While the Yellowjacket inside game is far from district-ready, it also came through in a timely fashion. 

Bradyn Alley finished at the hoop after a nice baseline drive, Conner Gibson scored with a jump-hook, Stephen Ogueri had a nice inside score on an assist from Dawson Pendergrass, and Gibson found Pendergrass with a feed late in the game for a critical basket. 

Mineola’s inside presence and team play was just a hint of what is to come. 

Not to be overlooked was the great work of freshman Xzavien Lipscomb who took over backcourt duties in the second half. In addition to exploiting the Rains defense for three scoring drives of his own, Lipscomb’s backcourt work relieved Moreland of the tough duty of bringing the ball up-court and allowed the Jackets to move Moreland to a wing from where he launched most of his attacks on the basket.

There was plenty of learning points for the Jackets – after all it was the season opener – but the hustle, physicality and awareness are indicators of a solid season. 

Rains has a good basketball team. They shoot well, play fast, and are well-coached. They battled back from an 11-point deficit to make it a four-point game at the half. They came back from another double-digit deficit in the second half to close the score to 56-54 with 3:00 on the clock. 

Late rebounding and team composure closed out the game for Mineola.

Buckle up – it should be quite a season.