By Tom Waddill
CONROE — The Hornets looked pretty good prior to the Christmas holiday. They looked better Saturday in the championship game of the Conroe Christmas Classic.
In a 68-61 win over Atascocita, the Huntsville boys captured their second consecutive first-place trophy from the Conroe tournament. Unlike their 38-point victory over Livingston on Dec. 21, the Hornets (14-5) had to work like Trojans from start to finish to get past the pesky Eagles (16-4).
“We played four very good quarters against Atascocita,” Hornets coach Doug Anderson said. “We knew that’s what it would take to beat that team because they are very good.”
After edging Crosby 61-60, Anderson challenged his team, which, according to the coach, gave a ho-hum performance in the first gold-bracket game Saturday and barely got away with it.
“In the locker room, I wrote the letter C and the letter A on the board,” Anderson said. “Against Crosby we played like a C team. I told the guys they better play like an A team against Atascocita, because if they play like a C team again, they were going to get beat by 30.
“They stepped up and answered the challenge.”
The Hornets definitely did that.
In a matchup fitting a tournament championship game, Huntsville and Atascocita went toe-to-toe for 32 minutes.
Thanks to a 3-pointer from senior guard Drae Murray, the Hornets led 21-19 after one period. Huntsville stretched its lead to as many as seven points in the second quarter, but Atascocita fired back and cut the Hornets’ lead to two at the break.
The Hornets built a 10-point lead in the third quarter only to have the Eagles soar back and get within two early in the fourth. Down the stretch, the Hornets took control by going inside to big man Kirby Ennis. The 6-5 junior scored six of his 14 points in the final period and helped Huntsville regain its double-digit lead.
A tip-in by Ennis put the Hornets on top 66-56 with less than two minutes to play. Teammate Justin Ennis added three successful free throws in the final 20 seconds to put the game on ice.
Murray led the Hornets in the championship game with 20 points. He dished out four assists with no turnovers and pulled down four rebounds.
Justin Ennis had 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Howard Brown, the fourth Hornet to score in double figures, had 11 points with four boards and two blocks.
George Perry yanked down a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with his five points. Marcus Irving scored three with three boards. Lonny Lipscomb added two points.
Atascocita had three players hit double digits in scoring. Austen Nickell had 14 points and six boards. Everett Pleasant added 13 points and four rebounds. Cristian Driver had 11 points, while Shawn Toran and Jamal Branch threw in nine points apiece.
Anderson said he liked the way the Hornets played in Conroe, especially in wins over Morton Ranch and Atascocita. Huntsville also beat Oak Ridge on Friday.
“We played four very physical games. Hopefully, that’s really going to help us,” Anderson said. “Our guys know now that when they get after it on defense, they know we can go.
“We got some really good things off the bench this weekend. Lonny Lipscomb sparked us in the fourth quarter against Crosby with a couple of steals, and Justin Gilbert came in (against Atascocita) and let us rest Kirby a little. Marcus Irving is also contributing and playing very well.”
As a unit, the Hornets played well both Friday and Saturday. With Murray back on the floor, Huntsville had more success shooting from the perimeter. Murray popped three 3-pointers against Atascocita; Justin Ennis and Irving added one each.
The Hornets also outworked the Eagles on the boards. Atascocita had a slight height advantage, but that did not show up in the final statistics. Huntsville grabbed 44 boards to the Eagles’ 34.
Additionally, the Hornets only turned the ball over five times.
“We’re playing well right now,” Anderson said. “We’ve just got to keep playing hard and continue making progress.”
