What's the Inside Scoop from Your Most Memorable Game?

Posted by Franklin McKinney

The 53-54 season started with a 28 game winning streak and ended with our first district championship for CCISD.  Game twenty was in the finals of the Lamar Consolidated tournament.  We were down by one point in the closing seconds of the game.  Number 20 (Jimmy Goodman) out-hustled their guy to a loose ball and took it to the hole for a right-handed (Jimmy was left-handed) layup to win the game.  After the game, we talked about number 20 winning game twenty for us and maybe we could keep the tradition alive.  I have no particular memories of the remaining games, but I'm sure that when we got to 29, my number (verified from my old yearbook), I did my part to ensure a win by remaining permanently seated at the end of the bench.  The big guns just didn't do their part.

We went on to win district and a bi-district game but Lamar Consolidated got sweet revenge by defeating us in the opening game of the Regional Tournament.

Comments

[Dan Jensen]

If Franklin wants me to narrow it down to just one game, then I have a plumb puzzlement on my hands here. Six popped into my mind right away and seven if you count our first venture into the state tournament but we lost that game. Maybe a loss should not be eligible as most memorable. Let me get back to you on this one.

[Dan Jensen]

Let me start working my way through the six or seven mentioned above. I really can't narrow it down to just one.

If we had won, the 1956 state tournament game against Phillips may have been it. We were 32-0 and the 84-41 loss was a crushing blow. I remember Orland Sims of the Austin American bubbling about it in his game story and saying that it "at times appeared to be verging on the impossible." The combined score was a tournament record for all classes for many years.

Brother Patrick, who played in the game as a senior, remembers something like a half court Phillips shot right before halftime but I do not. Does anyone else?

[Pat Jensen]

Yelp (as my old hind catcher, Kenneth Chaviers likes to say) some could use some editing, though I don't know what Sir Edward can do with your latest comments other than delete two of them.

[Ed Davis]

Of course, we would not need to edit things if the contributor got it right in the first place. But, as I tell my math students, God gave us erasers because none of us are perfect - some less than others, of course. I have deleted the extra two so now no one else will know what this flap is all about.

[Dan Jensen]

Hey, I just thought of another one. How could I have overlooked a late, late shot by Paul Timmins that won a regional championship over Killeen at Bryan in 1961?

A last shot by Chuck Trcka that beat Brazosport in 1958 was plumb loverly too since I had some Brazosport friends in college and had bragged on our Wildcats a lot to them.

But, I am still trying to come up with a number one and doubt if I will be able to do it. Stay tuned.

[Dan Jensen]

OK, right now I have a list of eight and have already discussed three of them above.

Two others both involve Bennie Lenox. In our memories to Coach, someone mentioned going up against undefeated Sam Houston in the 1960 Brazosport tournament. We were 6-0 and won, 78-66 with Bennie hitting a career high of 46 points. That was a school record until Paul Trcka scored 50 in I don't know what year.

The other came later in the state tournament. Belton was tall and very good and I expected it to be our opponent in the final game. But we both got knocked off in the semifinals and played for third place. We were tied with 12 seconds left and two of our three tall guys had fouled out so our chances in overtime were not promising.

Bennie began dribbling down court; not fast enough to suit me. But good coaching came into play and he penetrated down the baseline and hit a plumb loverly jump shot at the buzzer.

What a thrill! What a shame it was not for the championship.

[Dan Jensen]

Here's another plumb loverly. I don't know the year because I was out of the chronicling business by then but it was in Buddy Carlisle's senior year.

We were playing Galveston Ball in League City. I don't know if it had district championship implications or not but it probably did. I do know the gym (the original, not the newer, bigger one) was really packed with fans in the foyer looking through open windows into the gym.

We jumped out to a big lead, I think 19 points, early in the fourth quarter when the Tornadoes turned golden and started bombing from far and near.

Lo and behold, those dratted Islanders hit a shot to go ahead by one point late, late in the game.

Well, good, well coached teams (we had Bill Krueger then) come down and get a good shot for their best shooter. That's exactly what we did but Paul Trcka missed from the key--and Galveston rebounded! Oh, no! It's over!

But, not yet. Buddy Carlisle steals the ball at about half court and is intentionally fouled before he can go all the way for a winning layup. Good strategy, because Buddy was not the best free throw shooter in all the land.

But hallelujah, he hit the first to tie and the second for the win. It was plumb loverly, no doubt about it. If you don't believe me, ask Paul Trcka.

[Dan Jensen]

Then, there was the game at Texas City in 1972 and another district championship was on the line. Win and we have 19 straight championships and lose, well we didn't want to think about that.

Unlike the Galveston game above, Texas City had a one point lead--and the ball with about a minute left. The Stingarees stalled a bit but then some gunner thought he had a good shot from near the corner.

It missed, we rebounded and Steve Whitworth dribbled madly toward the goal with time almost expired. At the free throw line, he jumped and pumped in a left hander. None of Boonie Wilkening's picture perfect left-handed jumpers even compared.

With a couple of seconds left, all Texas City could do is throw the ball up in the rafters. When it came down, we had our 19th straight district championship and I well remember walking out of the gym and thinking, "The King ain't dead yet."

[Dan Jensen]

If I am forced to name a number one game, maybe a great victory over Alvin would be it. Maybe. It's the longest post, so try not to be bored.

It was 1963, Henry Bauerschlag's first year as head coach. We had not lost a district game in seven seasons and go to Deer Park for our league opener that year.

The host Deer hit a late shot to go ahead by one and Chuck Stamper's layup was disallowed at the buzzer--by the host timekeeper, of course; with the clock way back in the corner over his shoulder.

Well, let's bounce back and get them when they come to League City. Good plan. We hammer Dickinson, Channelview, LaPorte and LaMarque and welcome Alvin into our gym to close out the first half.

But, visiting Alvin tagged us with another district loss and we were 4-2 going into the second half. Not as planned.

Deer Park now came to our place and we had our timekeeper in place. No need though since we won by 15 points, 52-37. Four more easy wins and we go to the Alvin bandbox for a rematch with the Yellowjackets who have just one loss. We need to win for a district tie and a playoff.

It was a pressure packed, must win game for us before a packed house in enemy territory. We trailed, 21-19 at halftime but then Curly Lenox hit nine of 12 field goal attempts to spark us to a 55-48 win.

Curly had 32 points for the game. I would have to check to see if this was his career high but I do think it was his best game. I would be interested to know what he thinks.

The playoff was in Texas City. We outscored them, 22-8 in the fourth quarter on the way to an easy 66-40 win and another ticket to the state playoffs. Curly scored 27 and nephew Jimmie Dale Lenox had 23.

This was the era when our fans chanted, "We want state." I recall an Alvin fan responding by saying, "You won't get it."

But, we did.

[Dan Jensen]

Clear Creek 65, Seminole 57.

Our first, and only, state basketball championship. Why doesn't that rank higher on my memory list? Dunno, maybe because I didn't remember any details, not even the score. Why wouldn't I remember the score that made us state champions when I have never forgotten the 84-81 score in the loss to Phillips in our first state tournament game seven years before? Dunno.

So, a little checking is in order. We trailed, 31-27 at halftime but rode 21 second half points from junior Jimmie Dale Lenox for the title. He was the game's leading scorer with 28, Curly Lenox had 14 and Ronnie Wilkening 10.

Jimmie Dale's plumb sterling effort got him state wide attention and was key to him being named the best player for all classes in Texas the next season.

But Curly Lenox was the main reason we had a shot at that beautiful state championship trophy in 1963. If you don't believe me, ask Alvin.

[Dan Jensen]

I'm really surprised that this thread has not drawn some more comments. Dig around in those memories and share some great games with us. Don't say there weren't any. We all know better.

Wouldn't it be great to have Coach Carlisle weigh in on this one?

[Paul Timmins]

Most memorable game---beating Killeen at the buzzer our senior year to go to state. At the state game we got to the finals, but we were shot down by South San. If memory is right, it was our first time in the finals at the state meet.

[Ed Davis]

Well, my most memorable game was the game with Milby High School out of Houston in the 57/58 season. Milby had a great team with big, fast, experienced players and they went to the regional finals that year in Class 4A. The next year they went to the state tournament. We beat them in our gym by one point in a real thriller. Besides the great win, the other memorable thing is that my future wife was in the stands -a member of the Milby pep squad. We later met at Baylor and she recalled that game and how much they really did not like us "country boys" whipping up on the Buffs. We married in '62 and, 43 years later, Karla and I still talk about that game. I guess Coach Carlisle played matchmaker scheduling that game and did not even know it. Thanks, Coach!

[Dan Jensen]

Another memorable game was against Devine in the 1957 regional finals in Victoria.

We were trailing in the fourth quarter. I don't recall by how much but maybe someone can tell me. I have always remembered that, with 5:21 left to play, our all state guard, James Davis, fouled out. Now, that was not good.

But, what was good is that Chuck Trcka came off the bench to play well and Robert Brown and William Frost pumped in the key points for us to take a 78-72 win. Brown finished with 23 points, Frost had 19 and Davis 17.

Let me add this quirk to the story. About 20 years ago, I was driving home to Enid, Oklahoma and listening to my Baylor guys play Oklahoma State. Baylor was leading by five or six points as I pulled into the garage and OSU called time out with exactly 5:21 left to play. I thought of that same time left in the Devine game of about 30 years before.

OSU had a player that doubly reminded me of it as OSU rallied to win. His name was Jay Davis.

[Dan Jensen]

Come on, guys! Surely you have at least one game that is a plumb loverly memory to you. Share with us, please.

[Dan Jensen]

It's absolutely unbelievable that so few have posted about a game that was particularly memorable to them. Should I threaten to have Coach Proctor phone some of his former players and "counsel" with them?