By now most of you have heard about "The Bigger Event" to be held at Mineola High School on Friday evening, Feb. 26, beginning at 7 p.m. Last year the gym was filled with fans young and old, and a great time was had by all.

This year, the NBA and NFL players return to support the Mineola Athletic Booster Club in this most worthy fund-raising event. These players give much of their valuable time helping organizations like ours, and also hope to make a connection with the young people of the Mineola School District. You see, the players love the game of basketball. That will come out in their performances on the court Friday evening. What they really hope to accomplish is to deliver a powerful message to our young students. With the support of the district administration and each building principal, these professional athletes will be visiting every school in the district the week leading up to "The Bigger Event." Their real mission is to teach our kids about the importance of getting a good education, and leading a drug-free life. And that they do very well.

So if you want to see some awesome dunks, deadly accurate three point shots, no look passes and hilarious on the court antics, come to Mineola High School on Friday evening, Feb. 26. The doors will open at 6 p.m. Support the Mineola Athletic Booster Club Scholarship Fund. Tickets are available in each elementary school and the middle school. To order tickets by phone, call Paul Cusato at 248-0849. Adults $5, children $4 ($1 more at the door). Autographs and photos available. Refreshments, and a raffle for the chance to win a two year lease on a new car, will be sold. Don't miss out on this really fun-filled evening. After all, what else is there to do on a cold February night. We guarantee you will have a great time.

Floral Park is one of the most respected teams in Nassau County. They are ranked #1 in Conference 3, and ranked #8 in the state. They have consistently beat teams by 15 points or better-until they met the Mineola HS Lady Mustangs varsity basketball team.

Hot shooting by Kristina Tsabasis helped the Lady Mustangs have a lead of 25 to 18 at halftime. It was an exciting game. Every time Floral Park started to sneak up, we put in another shot. Unfortunately, our team had a poor shooting percentage and numerous turnovers in the third quarter where powerhouse Floral Park scored 20 points to Mineola's eight.

"The way our players performed defensively, playing with tremendous heart and soul, as far as I was concerned, although it was not a win on paper, it was a win to us," said Varsity Coach Zunno. "We were the first team that really gave Floral Park a difficult time."

Offensively, Kristina Tsabasis scored 11 points, Katherine Hock had 10 and so did Heather Savignano. Exceptional defense performed by Katherine Hock, Nikki Adams, and Daniela Santa Maria. Heather Savignano led all rebounders with 14. Katherine Hock had three steals.

The final score was a very respectable 54 to 46 in a very exciting game.

The Lady Mustangs came off their impressive performance against Floral Park to beat the Lady's from Bellmore JFK by a score of 69 to 37. The team scored a season high of 69 points. The two hot shooters in the game were Heather Savignano who totaled 20 points and went 9 for 10 from the field. Erin Cloughessy finished with 19 points of her own sinking 8 for 10 from the field. Leading the Lady Mustangs in rebounds were Nikki Adams and Heather Savignano with 8 and 7 respectively. Point guard Ashley O'Neill impressed the coaches and fans with five assists and four steals, and Kim "The Hammer" Rossi had four blocked shots.

The Lady Mustangs are now preparing for the Nassau County playoffs. We wish them well.

The boys bowling teams continue to do well. On Feb. 1 the varsity competed against Lynbrook defeating their opponents by a score of 8-3. This match was their final of the year and had the Mineola boys finishing in third place in league play and ninth overall in the county. Eric Krise rolled a 192, Anthony Scapicchio a 202, John Pirrone a 205 and John Randazzo a 205, 226. Great job boys!

The JV bowlers also competed on Feb. 1. They rolled against Garden City defeating them by a shut-out and taking all 11 points.

The JV boys also finished in third place in the league. Adam Tuthill bowled a 183 and Bryan Gallucci turned in scores of 177 and 189.

The girls JV basketball team won in an exciting game against Clarke 38-26. Liz Diaz, Patty Ober and Casandra Burke had a great offensive game, all playing hard. Mary Warren and Kristina Zunno led the defense for the win. On Feb. 3, the Mineola boys JV basketball team defeated West Hempstead by a score of 65-42. Chris Gonzalez led all scorers with 15 points, followed by John Murphy's 14 points and 10 rebounds. Leading the defense was Danny Baily with 10 steals and 11 points. Freshman Eric Wooten had 10 points of his own to add to the Mustang's win.