The Connally High black basketball team finished its summer season with a 59-49 win over St. Stephens on Tuesday night.

Marcel Pimpton led the way for the Cougars with 16 points and three assists. Dion Gaddy scored 13 and Tony Standberry added 10 for Connally. The Cougars’ black team finished the summer with a 5-2 record.

Tuesday’s games marked the end of the second year of Connally’s summer league. Cougar head coach Marshall Sanders was pleased with the way the league went despite the fact they lost two teams midway through the year.

“I was really happy with the competition,” he said. “The games were good. Losing two teams hurt us, but next year I’ll work harder to get more teams to join.”

While UIL rules prevent Sanders from coaching his players during the league, he did attend every game and got the chance to watch his squad progress as they prepare for next season and a move to a new district.

“Having the football kids play with the basketball kids was huge for us,” Sanders added. “I use this to evaluate the young guys and see how they can play against varsity competition. We have a lot of guys who got better.”

Connally jumped out to a big lead over the Spartans as Standberry scored on a put-back to get things started. Pimpton hit Mike Egwagu for a 3-pointer the put the Cougars up 5-0 and after baskets by Standberry, Gaddy and Pimpton Connally led 12-0.

St. Stephens battled back to trim the Cougar lead to 16-11, but a Pimpton three pushed Connally’s advantage back to 19-11. The Spartans answered the Cougar bucket with an 8-0 run to tie the game at 19-19. Egwagu scored on a tip in to briefly return the advantage to Connally, but the lead was short-lived as a St. Stephens’ three ball gave the Spartans their first lead of the game. The Cougars finished the half with a 6-0 mini-run but still trailed 28-27 at intermission.

Connally opened the second half with a 10-0 run, building a 37-28 lead they would not give back. Gaddy opened the half taking a pass from Pimpton and scoring a basket. Pimpton then took over, scoring six points and dishing an assist to Standberry for the other score in the Cougar surge.

Connally’s lead was 39-32 when Pimpton sparked another run with two free throws. Stanberry added a steal that turned into a layup and Gaddy dropped in another free throw to expand the Cougars’ lead to 44-32. The two teams traded baskets down the stretch as Pimpton knocked down a three and Jovante Budd got in on the scoring with a free throw that put Connally up 48-38. The baskets were good enough to seal the win for the Cougars as the Spartans were only able to close the gap to seven (50-43) late in the game.