The program had little history of success and even fewer fans outside of a handful of parents.
It’s tough to sell a six-win team, but CTCS coaches and players knew their breakout season wasn’t too far away.
It was only a matter of time before the then-freshmen and sophomores adjusted to the speed of the game at the varsity level.
Two years removed from a near-empty gym and single-digit wins, the Lions’ breakthrough has arrived.
“These are the same guys that were 6-10 two years ago,” Venegas said. “Now, it’s totally different. The difference is heart - it’s bigger.”
CTCS won its first-ever TAPPS District 4-3A championship, finishing with a 12-0 record.
The Lions bring a 23-4 record into their TAPPS bi-district playoff game against Dallas Lake Hill Prep at 7 p.m. today at CTCS.
And if the hallway chatter between Lions players and their classmates is any indication, they’ll be playing before a packed gym for a second straight game.
Several Lions said the atmosphere at Friday’s 4-3A finale against rival Waco Texas Christian was unlike anything they’d seen at CTCS. The stands were full of red-clad fans nearly 30 minutes before tipoff. The recently crowned district champions were introduced with the help of a fog machine and strobe lights.
“That was pretty amazing,” junior guard Nash Ingram said. “We don’t usually have crowds. It felt good to have people finally come see our games.”
Moments after hitting the game-winning basket with 24 seconds left, junior guard Clay Crews admitted the Lions expected to be good this year.
But they never expected anything like this.
“I knew we were going to be good in district,” Crews said. “I knew we were going to win district. But I didn’t think we would go undefeated.”
The Lions knew they’d be improved this season, bringing back nearly all of their roster that finished 17-12 overall and third in 4-3A.
But getting past their season-ending loss in bi-district play a year ago proved to be last season’s toughest challenge.
CTCS trailed Fort Worth Calvary by 29 points after the first quarter in last year’s bi-district game.
And things didn’t get much better.
The Lions lost Crews to an ankle injury and eventually suffered a 90-38 loss.
Recovering from such an ugly loss wasn’t easy, but it might have just been what the Lions needed to prepare them for where they’re at now.
“These boys are hungry for basketball,” Venegas said. “After that game ended, the next Monday, they were back in the gym, practicing by themselves. They remember that - constantly. That’s our goal, not only to win district, but to go farther in the playoffs.”
CTCS got a taste of just how tough playoff basketball can be on Tuesday night.
Venegas scheduled a warmup game against another TAPPS playoff-bound team, Class 4A Austin Brentwood Christian.
The Lions trailed big early - 13 after the first quarter - but thanks to big nights from Crews and Ingram, CTCS rallied to cut the deficit to six by halftime. A 24-point fourth quarter helped propel CTCS to a 55-52 win.
Rallying from that kind of deficit isn’t something this team might have done a year ago. As mostly freshmen and sophomores, they still were easily rattled.
“Now, they don’t back down,” Venegas said. “Back then, you could tell there was a little intimidation.”
The Lions haven’t backed down this year and a big part of that is simply confidence in their system.
With no players taller than 6-2, CTCS likes to get out and run as much as possible and utilize the speed of its guards.
Crews, the Lions’ tallest player, faces a favorable mismatch almost every night simply because he’s taller than most guards in TAPPS Class 3A.
He’s smartly able to use his height to his advantage by shooting over smaller defenders.
“I usually look to drive and use my body to get around them or get in the post and get around them,” Crews said. “It helps with the jump shot, for sure.”
Crews enters tonight’s game as the team’s leading scorer, averaging nearly 25 points per game.
But the dangerous part of the Lions’ perimeter-dominated offense is the fear of a cold shooting night.
“We live by the 3,” Ingram said. “If we’re not hitting it, we’re in trouble.”
But rarely has CTCS run into those shooting slumps.
Venegas is a firm believer in strong man-to-man defense, especially using his guards to pressure on the perimeter and create turnovers.
Said Ingram: “We like to get up and down the court and getting those turnovers really helps that.”
rschneider@temple-telegram.com
