Coastal Bend teams tune up for district at CCCA boys basketball tournament
King first-year coach Evan Hartlaub wanted as much momentum as his team could get with District 29-5A play set to begin Tuesday.
The Mustangs responded by finishing 3-2 at the Corpus Christi Coaches Association Tournament and placing third in the silver bracket.
King defeated Gregory-Portland 83-53 in the final game of the tournament on Saturday at the Miller High School Gymnasium.
Terrell Palmer led the Mustangs with 18 points and Jon-Michael Johnson added 15 points, including four 3-pointers.
"It was really good for our kids and our role players to get extra minutes," Hartlaub said. "Our bench played really well this weekend, which is a big plus for us going into district. People are going to know about Terrell Palmer and John Michael-Johnson but we have other kids who have stepped up."
The Mustangs (8-7) open district play Tuesday on the road against Victoria West.
Hartlaub said he hopes to see the success from the tournament carry over into King's matchup with the Warriors.
"They (West) graduated their top three guards but they're bringing back a really good JV team," Hartlaub said. "One of their players is similar to our Jon-Michael Johnson, where he can surprise people. We have to be ready."
Trojans make statement
Moody placed fourth in the gold bracket after its loss to San Antonio Clark in the third place game.
The Trojans (10-5) won three key games against San Antonio Highlands, Ray and Santa Maria.
It was Moody's first appearance in the gold bracket of the CCCA tournament in 19 years.
The Trojans open District 29-5A play winners of five of their last six games, and take on in-city rival Ray at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 14 at home.
Vets continuing to improve
Veterans Memorial placed fifth in the gold bracket after capturing the consolation championship with a 59-53 win against San Antonio Brackenridge.
Vets won four out of five games at the tournament to improve to 9-5 on the season.
The Eagles open district play Tuesday at Gregory-Portland and should get a boost with players from football returning to the roster.
Miller, Gregory-Portland, Ray, Carroll look to finish strong
The Buccaneers went 3-2 in tournament play and finished sixth in the gold bracket. Miller (6-3) won key games against Ray, Gregory-Portland and Leander Rouse, which went on to win the tournament.
Gregory-Portland finished fourth after its loss to King in the third place game of the silver bracket. The Wildcats were led by sharpshooter Trevor Jones.
Ray opened the tournament with wins against Houston Elgin and McAllen Memorial, but fell to Veterans Memorial, Moody and Miller.
The Texans open district play at Carroll on Dec. 7.
Carroll defeated Palmview in the silver bracket and lost by one to Santa Rosa in the final game of the tournament.
More: A look at top performers from this week's Corpus Christi high school basketball games
Rey Castillo is a sports reporter for the Caller-Times and a graduate of Texas A&M-Kingsville. He may be reached at rey.castillo@caller.com or on Twitter @reycastillo361
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi teams tune up at CCCA boys basketball tournament
