Mineola loses to Tatum in bidistrict hoops playoff
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The Tatum Eagles dashed Mineola’s hopes of a first-round playoff upset by defeating the Yellowjackets 77-48 Tuesday, Feb. 18 at Longview High School.
The Eagles were undefeated in district 16-3A and have only two losses on the year – a double overtime loss ...
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Mineola loses to Tatum in bidistrict hoops playoff
The Tatum Eagles dashed Mineola’s hopes of a first-round playoff upset by defeating the Yellowjackets 77-48 Tuesday, Feb. 18 at Longview High School. The Eagles were undefeated in district 16-3A and have only two losses on the year – a double overtime loss to Jefferson early in the season and a one-point loss to the number-one ranked team in 3A, Kountze. The challenge for the Jackets was clear.
Mineola certainly had opportunities. The Jackets played the first quarter straight-up even. Six points by Zane Strange on short jump-shots and scoring contributions from Caiden Beck, Colton McMahon and Caiden Rupert saw the quarter end with the score 14-13, Tatum.
Turnovers undid the Jackets. After a hopeful opening quarter, three consecutive turnovers jumpstarted the Eagles. Less than one minute after the start of the second quarter Mineola trailed by 10 points.
The Jackets continued to struggle against the oppressive Tatum defense, and Mineola continued to turn the ball over. Yet, they still hung in the game.
Just before the half Aidan Shepherd scored with an offensive rebound put-back. Caden Rupert stepped-in and took a charge. In some frantic action in the closing moments of the half, Ainsley Steward blocked a mid-range jump-shot to thwart Tatum at the buzzer.
At the half Mineola trailed by 7 points, 32-25.
Steward – who finished with 17 points – hit a jump shot to start the second half. It was as close as Mineola would come to the lead.
Tatum promptly rattled off seven points by forcing a Mineola 5-second violation on an inbound and forcing three turnovers on the press.
Despite some great individual efforts, such as McMahon’s drive across the lane and Steward’s end-to-end drive in the middle of the fourth quarter, Tatum controlled the floor in the second half.
Once the scoring margin exceeded 10 points, the game fundamentally changed. Tatum scores quickly; it is their trademark. Mineola must work hard to generate offense. This combination led to the runaway nature of the second half and the final 29-point margin.
