Whitehouse Boys, Girls Defeat Lindale on Thursday

WHITEHOUSE -- Chris Grotemat looked to his bench before sending in substitutions.

"Don't let Mahomes get another rebound," he said.

The minutes were waning in the fourth quarter along with Lindale's chances of winning. The scene was telling of the story Thursday evening in Whitehouse. Jackson Mahomes was simply too much for the Eagles to handle in Whitehouse's 49-34 victory.

Mahomes led the Wildcats in scoring with 21 points and also added nine rebounds -- many of which came offensively. His ability to get second chance points and draw fouls was crucial in earning the victory, coach Brent Kelley said.

"He just played with great effort," Kelley said. "He got a lot of offensive boards and putbacks. When he does that, and he's had four or five double-doubles this year, we've been pretty successful."

Whitehouse (17-6, 2-0 District 17-5A) entered halftime down, 23-18, but found life in the third quarter. McKade Marquis nailed a couple of 3-pointers in the game, none bigger than the one he hit to end the third. With seconds ticking away, Marquis pump faked to give himself room and got the ball off just as the buzzer sounded. The shot put Whitehouse up, 34-29 heading into the final quarter and gave the Wildcats all the momentum.

They rode that momentum to a 10-2 run to start the quarter and create more separation. Whitehouse dominated, outscoring Lindale 15-5 in the quarter on its way to claiming the win.

"The kids were acting a little confused (before halftime) and we just had to speed the game up," Kelley said. "We let our defense create our offense and got out in transition. We didn't shoot the ball very well tonight. We talked before the game that we had to win with our defense, and we gave up 11 points in the second half, so that was the difference."

Javier Neal was another key contributor for Whitehouse, finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. Teigan Edwards led Lindale with nine points.

It will be a quick turnaround for both teams. The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but postponed because of winter weather. Lindale (10-9, 0-2) will be at home facing Nacogdoches at 8 p.m. Friday, while Whitehouse welcomes Corsicana at 7:30 p.m Friday.

The Wildcats will honor coach C.L. Nixon and the 1978 basketball team that won the state championship at the game. Kelley said he is looking forward to the celebration, but knows it will be a challenge to get his team ready for such a quick turnaround.

"I've never played district games on back-to-back nights," Kelley said. "It's always a good matchup with them. They're well-coached, they do good stuff. It's gonna be who can get their team ready to play in about 22 hours."

Whitehouse girls survive late scare against Lindale

WHITEHOUSE -- It was almost too good to believe.

Almost.

Lindale put in a valiant effort at a comeback, but it started that comeback with too little time remaining. The clock saved Whitehouse as the Ladycats held on to win, 51-48 on Thursday and earn their first district victory.

Two minutes earlier, Lindale found itself down 51-40. There was little reason to believe the Lady Eagles could still win, even if the slight chance remained. However, a flurry a steals and transition buckets later, they had trimmed the lead to three with just under a minute to go.

But the shot that would have made it a one-point game rimmed out and Lindale couldn't send Whitehouse to the free throw line in time. It was too late.

"I think the whole process for these girls is just growing up, learning the game and learning what the defense is doing when they're pressuring you," coach Adam McMahon said. "We made a lot of bad choices throwing the ball away. You give it to Lindale, they were in the right spots and they're making plays. That's what they had to do to get back in it. ...We know what to work on next time we play them."

Whitehouse went into halftime trailing, 27-23. It got several big performances in the third quarter to distance itself from Lindale and ultimately win. Riley Hester finished with nine points and all of them came off 3-pointers in the second half.

Jazmin Ray finished with 11 points and five steals. She had back-to-back steals and transition buckets with just more than three minutes to go in the third that sparked a big run.

Freshman Hope Casel finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

"At the end of the day, there was nothing we could do as far as pressing against them," McMahon said. "They did a good job breaking the press. We just knew if we sat in and were patient, shots would start going our way. I told the girls that they had a chance and to get out there and compete. I said, 'It's gonna be a fight. Who's going to win the fight?'

"Tonight, we won the fight."

Whitehouse improves 7-15 and 1-3 in District 17-5A with the victory. The Ladycats will next host Corsicana on Friday. Meanwhile, Lindale will get a chance to bounce back against Nacogdoches.