Tenaha Holiday Hoops recap

Christmas is a time surrounded by tradition, gifts under the tree, lights on houses, and the annual Tenaha Holiday Hoops Tournament. Holiday Hoops has become a staple part of the Christmas holiday here in East Texas. Each year 1A, 2A, and 3A basketball teams gather in Tenaha for highclass competition. Tenaha ISD has partnered up with Joaquin, Timpson, and Panola College to ensure that there are enough gyms to accommodate the large number of teams involved in the action. This year the field consisted of 34 teams, 17 boy teams and 17 girl teams. Among those competitors were 14 teams ranked within the top 15 of their respective conferences.

Notable teams included in the boys’ tournament include Brookeland (No. 8, 1A), Timpson (No. 15, 2A), Lipan (No. 14, 2A), Martins Mill (No. 1, 2A), Tatum (No. 14, 3A), Kountze (No. 9, 3A), Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill (No. 7, 3A) and Hooks (No. 5, 3A).

On the girls’ side of the tournament the top three teams in the state at the 2A level were in attendance. The home team Lady Tigers entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in 2A followed by Lipan (No. 2), Martins Mill (No. 3), and Douglass (No. 6). Representing 3A were Piney Woods Academy (No. 11) and Huntington (No. 12).

This year’s tournament was filled with upsets. The Timpson Bears boys’ team had very little time to prepare given their history making, football state championship. Timpson defeated Mineola 72-38 in the first round of play earning them a matchup with the current 2A front-runner Martins Mill. Timpson’s modest ranking of 15 is bound to improve after they knocked off the No. 1 Mustangs in overtime with a final score of 6359. Five-star football recruit Terry Bussey led the Bears with 33 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists, and three steals. Timpson would ultimately finish Holiday Hoops with a fourth-place finish after running into stiff 3A competition in the form of Hooks and then Kountze.

Ultimately, the Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill Red Devils (No. 7, 3A) led by coach David Schmitt took home the trophy after upsetting No. 5 Hooks in the championship. Schmitt is a familiar face at the Holiday Hoops Tournament. He began attending the tournament during his time with the Shelbyville Dragons, who he coached to a pair of state championships in 2019 and 2020. This year Schmitt’s team put on a show for the crowd with a three-point buzzer beater to earn the victory.

Speaking of Shelbyville, the Dragons were sent to the consolation bracket early by the Tatum Eagles, but the Dragons were able to win out against San Augustine, Douglass, and Maypearl. Shelbyville would have faced Tenaha in the consolation championship, but the teams elected not to compete with one another given their quickly approaching district opener. Tenaha earned wins over White Oak and Maypearl but fell to Douglass and Lipan.

In girls’ action, Martins Mill was able to punch above their classification winning games over both Huntington and Piney Woods Academy to earn a third-place finish. The Tenaha Lady Tigers battled their way back to the championship of this years’ tournament, but ultimately fell to No. 2 Lipan. The Lady Tigers earned victory over Cooper, Broaddus, and Piney Woods Academy before their second-place finish. The Timpson Lady Bears earned wins over San Augustine, Beckville, and Cooper but fell to Lipan and Christoval. Joaquin’s girls fell early to Piney Woods Academy before earning a win over Sabine. The Lady Rams then fell to Mineola and went on to defeat Brookeland.

Year after year, Holiday Hoops delivers fierce competition. Strong competitors continue to attend and provide fans with the gift of high-quality matchups. It’s rare for any tournament to reproduce the atmosphere and excitement of playoff basketball, but Tenaha’s tournament continues to deliver.