Fresh off a weeklong break, the Conroe Tigers were working overtime Friday afternoon at their 59th Annual Conroe Christmas Classic.
Three overtimes, to be exact. And two victories picked up.
Conroe topped Waller 51-49 in double-overtime in its first pool play game of the day before edging Huntsville 58-56 in a single overtime in the second game.
The Tigers (7-12) picked up four total points towards a possible championship when the 17th-team tournament continues Saturday.
Leading Conroe for the first time in this tournament, new coach Tigee Rideaux was proud of how his team grinded out the pair of wins.
“I’m just so proud of their resilience,” Rideaux said. “We made it ugly, but that’s just how we play. These kids are still trying to learn to win. My expectations are to win every single game, and sometimes we clash because I have such high expectations. Now they are understanding why, because they can see you can beat a team like Huntsville.”
Senior captain Donnovan Johnson led Conroe with 22 points against Huntsville (10-4) after scoring just two against Waller earlier.
“It was nerve-racking,” Johnson said of playing two overtime games. “But we’re really big on family. I just trust my teammates. Overtime. Once we get to game time, we know we’re good.”
With the Huntsville game tied 56-all with 7.4 seconds left, Johnson was fouled and hit two free throws to give his team the lead.
“I was happy,” Johnson said. “Right when he fouled me, I knew it was game. I was just stressing to the team ‘one stop’ (down on the defensive end). I don’t miss free throws.”
Huntsville couldn’t get a good shot off down the other end as time expired.
Rideaux, hired in April, said the team was telling him about how they didn’t play well against Huntsville in the spring league. The Tigers heard some perceived slights Friday and went to work.
“This Huntsville team is absolutely awesome,” Rideaux said. “Their coach (Jay Oliphant) was my college teammate at Sam Houston, so we go way back. They are well-coached, tough kids.”
Conroe junior Jesse Porras added 13 points while Noble Wesley added eight. Senior Jadyn Ramos scored all six of his points in the fourth quarter/overtime while junior Johnathan Gafford also had six.
Conroe and Huntsville were tied 49-all at the end of regulation. The Tigers were up 49-44 on an inside bucket by Ramos with 1:15 to play before a 3-pointer by Jordan Ennis and a layup with nine seconds left tied it.
Conroe also held a 36-35 advantage after three quarters as Porras scored five points in the frame.
After a quieter game offensively against Waller, Conroe’s Johnson came out firing against Huntsville.
The senior guard totaled 14 points in the first half, including a 3-pointer with seconds remaining before the buzzer to pull the Tigers within a point at halftime.
“My coach,” Johnson said when asked what the difference was for him between the two games. “He just really motivated me. (He) gave me a quick talking to and I got right back into that mode.”
Conroe trailed from the get-go in the first quarter as Ennis knocked down a 3 for the Hornets in the opening moments.
By the end of the first quarter, the Tigers used a 7-0 run (all points by Johnson, including a 3) to tie it up at 13-all.
To start the second quarter, Johnson and Porras each made a pair of free throws and Johnson added a putback to cap a 13-0 run for a 19-13 lead.
Conroe’s lead didn’t last, however, as the Hornets went on a 12-2 run with Chris Reescano totaling eight of those points.
The Tigers trailed by a point at the break despite shooting just 3-for-10 in the second quarter with five turnovers. Huntsville was 3-for-6 from downtown in the first half.
Against Waller, Conroe led 21-11 at halftime before the Bulldogs battled back to outscore it 22-12 in the second have. Conroe had just four points in the third quarter.
“We jumped out early on Waller,” Rideaux said. “They were well-coached and resilient. We just did some bonehead things down the stretch, but we pulled out a two-point win in double-overtime.”
Gafford led with 14 points while Ramos added eight.
Conroe hadn’t played since last Friday’s District 13-6A win over Willis, 62-56.
“Tournaments are always tough, but especially after a five-day, six-day layoff,” Rideaux said. “The UIL won’t let us practice (before and after Christmas). For those buoys to come out and fight (was big).”
The Tigers were slow out of the gate to start the season. After going 16-16 last year under the previous coaching staff, Conroe started this season with a new staff and missing players due to the football team’s run to the area round.
Rideaux, a state-champion as a player at Beaumont Ozen in 2001, points to a tournament at Port Arthur earlier this month as a turning point for the team’s bond and mentality improvement.
“This is our first winning streak of the year,” Rideaux said. “Three in-a-row. Same thing last year at Nimitz, we hit our stride at the right time. With the win against Willis last Friday – which was a huge win – I’m trying to get them to understand that they can play with anybody. Just play with toughness and play with IQ.”
Conroe returns to action Saturday against Richmond Randle (noon) and Little Rock Central (4:30 p.m.), which is coached by Conroe native Shelby Lewis.
Johnson is enjoying the opportunity to play the long-running Christmas Classic this year.
“It’s really cool,” Johnson said. “Last year, I just didn’t really get that much of an opportunity. And just have this coach to believe and just be captain of this team, it means a lot.”
Conroe junior James Koslosky (3) goes up for a layup against Huntsville on Dec. 27, 2024. (Chris Zorzi/SportCast Media)
