Cleburne came up short in its Class 5A bidistrict playoff game against No. 9 Midlothian on Tuesday, but the Yellow Jackets certainly made the Panthers earn it in a hard-fought 57-45 decision. A 14-0 run by Midlothian to open the third quarter was the difference in the game as the Panthers turned a 29-27 lead at halftime into a 43-27 lead with 3:46 left in the third. Midlothian (24-10) had a 17-point lead late in the third quarter, but the Jackets (22-12) wouldn't bow out quietly. Cleburne trimmed the Panthers' lead down to six points at 51-45 with 3:43 left but Midlothian managed to control things the rest of the way. Even in defeat, Cleburne Coach Kurt White said it was one of his most proudest coaching moments seeing his out-gunned Jackets battle against one of the state's most talented teams. “I told our team in 34 years of coaching, I've never been more proud of a team that went out and competed as hard as we competed considering the ability and talent that we faced,” White said. “We gave them everything we had and that's all you can ask as a coach is for them to become a better young man, which they did, become a better team, which they did, and play as hard as you can in the last one, and they did that. That means, to some certain degree, we're successful in the long run.” The Jackets, who wanted a slow tempo and low-scoring game, executed their game plan in the first half to near perfection. Cleburne even held a lead late in the second quarter after Addison Wallace stole a pass and threw down a two-handed dunk for a 25-24 lead with 3:49 left in the first half. But coming out of halftime, a slow start to the third quarter doomed Cleburne, and White said the Jackets simply dug themselves too big of a hole in the end. “They just came out and they didn't miss in the third,” White said. “Playoff games are full of peaks and valleys, and they hit a big peak right there. We hit one, too, but we dug ourselves too big of a hole there. We got it down to six, but look at the energy we spent to get there. “Their man-to-man pressure got to us a little. They're long, they're quick and they're strong. They're pretty good — they're really good. But we didn't back down from them. I think we're pretty good, too. I think we fared the best out of our district [in the bidistrict matchups].” Even after Cleburne cut the deficit down to six points with just under four minutes remaining, Midlothian was able to run some serious time off the clock. The Panthers held the ball without a stoppage in play for more than two minutes at one point as Cleburne couldn't force a turnover. “They ran a lot of time off the clock, and we couldn't make it work,” White said. “That was difficult on us for as hard as we were playing all night, plus they're so skilled. That Kaden Archie is good but those other guys are good, too. They're well coached. That concerned me is how well coached they were defensively because they really get down and defend. But I think we attacked them pretty well.” Midlothian shot 48.7 percent from the floor with nine turnovers while Cleburne shot 35.7 percent from the floor with nine turnovers. Archie, a TCU signee, led Midlothian with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Caleb Jordan and Swahn Gibson each added 14 points. Wallace, who will go down as one of Cleburne's best basketball players in program history, led the Jackets with 18 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in his final outing before continuing his career at New Mexico State University. “We're very excited about Addison going on to the next level,” White said. “We feel like we've had a major part in his life. We feel like we've helped make him a better player and we feel like we've prepared him for the next level, and we're going to be right there rooting him on all the way.” Junior Garrett Wilson added 10 points and five rebounds for the Jackets while junior Kyler Jones pitched in seven points and senior Da'Quan Cius netted six points. “Da'Quan is a special guy and we're thankful he got to play with us,” White said. “I'm thankful I got to coach him and it was an honor. Chris Arthurs is another special player, Lance Scott same thing. Brody Martin plays as hard as he can and we're proud of him. “Those are special guys who have dedicated themselves for four years. And it's hard to play for me for four years because we're demanding and we're not going to change that. I'm really proud of all of my seniors.” The Jackets finished the season with a 22-12 record, another successful campaign for White and his squad as they won 20-plus games for the second straight season and made the playoffs for a second straight season. “I'm very proud of this season,” White said. “That's what we work for. I think we were picked seventh in the district and we ended up second. I feel very good about the accomplishments we reached. How many pressure nights on Tuesday and Friday nights did we have? Every one. Those guys have been through a whole lot, emotionally and physically. I'm extremely proud of them.”