By Tom Waddill
TOMBALL — Draw up a coach’s recipe for the perfect season opener and Doug Anderson got just about everything he hoped for, and maybe a little more, Tuesday against Tomball.
Huntsville’s varsity basketball team used defense and quickness to jump out to an early lead. In a hostile environment away from home, the Hornets survived a third-quarter flurry of punches. And at crunch time, their veteran leaders did enough on both ends of the floor to win a tight game 63-57.
Senior Drae Murray scored 23 points and grabbed five rebounds for the Hornets. Junior Justin Ennis added 18 points, four steals and three assists.
Junior Kirby Ennis contributed 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while classmate Howard Brown had 10 points and three boards. George Perry came off the bench and ripped down six big rebounds.
“That was a good start, especially against a Tomball team that is well coached and played awfully hard,” Anderson said. “During our scrimmage last week against Magnolia, we were looking at a lot of our personnel, but we also didn’t play very good defense. We watched the film and showed the guys what happens when we don’t play good defense.
“When we play great defense, we get some easy baskets. At times tonight, we played great defense.”
Huntsville came out of the gate with that defense-first mentality. The Hornets turned thefts on the Tomball end of the floor into transition points on the other end. Huntsville, which missed 21 layups last week in a three-team scrimmage with Magnolia and Houston Stratford, made seven chip shots in the opening period Tuesday.
Brown put HHS on top 12-5 three minutes into the game when he picked one of the Cougars’ pockets and laid the ball in for two. Murray scored six straight points to help the Hornets extend their early lead to 20-6. By the end of the first quarter, though, the Cougars had scored 10 unanswered points and cut the lead to 20-16.
With Murray and Justin Ennis leading the way, the Hornets picked up the pace again in the second period. An 11-5 spurt gave Huntsville a double-digit lead midway through the quarter. At the break, the Hornets led 39-30.
Murray scored 17 of his points in the first half, while Justin Ennis added 10.
Tomball made its best run in the third quarter. The Cougars, who went 18-15 a year ago in a tough Class 5A district, got the momentum going when senior guard Chase Bartlett popped a 3-pointer to open the period. After Justin Ennis swished a 3 to put Huntsville on top by nine again, the Cougars went on a 13-4 run and tied the game for the first time since the opening tip.
Much of Tomball’s impressive spurt came while Anderson was resting his starting five. The Cougars’ Reid Wallace, Jordan Leslie and Mitch Powell took control of the inside game against the Hornets’ inexperienced front line.
Powell led the Cougars with 17 points. Bartlett added 11 and Leslie had 10.
Right before the buzzer rang for the end of the third period, Anderson sent his starters back in the game. Justin Ennis, a bandage over his eye covering a gash he suffered earlier in the period, responded with a steal and a bucket. The Hornets never allowed the Cougars to tie the game again.
Huntsville hit 9-of-10 free throws in the fourth quarter to put Tomball away.
“That’s what we needed, a tough game like that,” Murray said. “This started in our scrimmage on Saturday. Everybody hustled and we played great defense.”
With only four returning players from last season’s magical season, the Hornets likely will experience some early growing pains. But Murray, who has been through many battles in the Huntsville green and white, believes this team has all the ingredients necessary to compete for another district title and make some noise again in the postseason.
“We’re going to be all right,” Murray said. “Our starters are solid and our bench is really good. Those guys just need some time. Once they get some experience, we’re going to be really good. We’ll be ready for district on December 14.”
The Hornets play their home opener on Friday against Cleveland. In a rare doubleheader of hoops for the girls and boys, the Lady Hornets are scheduled to play A&M; Consolidated at 6 p.m., with the Hornets’ game against Cleveland set to tip off at 7:30 p.m.
