The Coastal Bend Cougars began the season with a bang! Opening up the year with a 100 point ball game against cross town foe, Our Lady of the Lake JV. They would continue their dominance going 5-1 over their next 5 games. A trip to New Mexico would serve as a great litmus test to see where they stood on the national level. Their first game against Phoenix College proved they weren't just talented enough to beat local opponents, winning convincingly 97-63. Game 2 would help cement those sentiments as they battled a very deep Top ranked New Mexico JC for 30 of the 40 minutes, losing by only 15 points.
The Cougars returned home confident that what they learned in New Mexico would carry them throughout the season. Their next three opponents would prove they had something special, as they won 3 in a row beating Strength N Motion, Schreiner and opening conference play with a comeback victory over Paris College. The Cougars hit the road to Louisiana to play a scrappy Bossier Parish that resulted in a loss ending their win streak to move to 1-1 in conference. Their next game against Game Prep served as a tune up for the game they had circled on the calendar at the beginning of the season, a home match up with Kilgore College. The game began as they expected but the Cougars would struggle to hold onto the lead eventually losing the contest by 8, to drop to 1-2 against in-conference opponents.
The loss to Kilgore would open up a 5 game slide losing to Navarro by 7, Trinity Valley by 4, Tyler by 5, Panola by 9, and Lamar State PA by 13. Feeling deflated they would travel to Brenham, Tx to face Blinn, a team they hadn't defeated in Brenham in over a decade. The Cougars would rise to the challenge, leveling the Buccaneers 79-71 in a packed house. Coastal Bend would make quick work of Victoria College a couple of nights later in anticipation of their game against top ranked Lee College in Baytown. Riding a 2 game winning streak the Cougars arrived in Baytown believing in themselves. They would battle and outplay Lee for a majority of the game but the depth and size of the Navigators proved to be too much for the Cougars to maintain as they fell 66-78. With a conference record of 3-8, the Cougars returned home to recover to host a hot Angelina Roadrunner team.
"Every night in Region 14 is a war" stated Interim Head Coach Brandon Martinez before the game. His sentiments rang clear as his Cougars fought every possession to the tune of a 13 point victory, moving to 4-8 with their sights aimed at finishing the first round of conference against Jacksonville College on the road. Arriving in Jacksonville, confident once again, the Cougars executed their offense with efficiency enroute to a 29 point victory to finish the first pass through conference 4-8.
Opening up the second round of conference play at home against the Blinn Buccaneers would be a difficult task as the Buccaneers arrived in Beeville, winners of 6 in a row, with revenge on their mind. The re-match began with both teams trading buckets but Blinn's depth and determination would be too much for the Cougars as the home team failed in accomplishing the sweep, losing 70-86.
After the loss the Cougars had revenge on their minds as they traveled to Port Arthur, Texas for a re-match with Lamar State. With an atmosphere on par with an NCAA tournament game the Cougars and the Seahawks traded baskets for the entirety of the evening down to the last possession. A late game foul on the Cougars would prove to be the difference as they would fall on the road 86-88 in an instant classic matchup. At 4-10 in Conference the Cougars would return home to get back on track, defeating Victoria College 104-81 in time to play host to the Lee College Navigators. Losing by 12 in Baytown did not convince the Cougars that they weren't on the level with Lee. Coming in ranked sixth in the Nation, Lee College had their hands full trailing for the entire game. Down 5 with a little over a minute left, Lee made a mini run closing the gap 80-80 with seconds on the clock. A late game steal by the Navigators and a controversial goaltend by the Cougars sealed the fate of the game as the Navigators escaped Beeville victorious 80-82.
With 6 wins in Conference, the Cougars found themselves bound for the Region's Tournament for the second consecutive year. The Cougars would drop the last two games of the season, to Angelina and Jacksonville in overtime to end the regular season 15-15. The Cougs would enter post-season play as the 10th ranked team in Region 14 drawing a first round bid against #6 Angelina for a third time, each team winning on their home floor. Angelina's hot shooting early on would ignite an 11-0 run to start the game for the Roadrunners and the Cougars could never fully recover as their season ended early with a first round defeat to Angelina 77-63.
"Despite the defeat we are proud of this group for being in every game every night. Losing games by a possession or two will replay in my head during the off-season but we have no reason to hang our heads. These guys battled and battled and battled. They never gave up the fight and at the end of the day that's what I'm most proud of." chimed Interim Head Coach Brandon Martinez when asked about the 2023-24 season.
The Cougars 2023-24 season highlights:
Overall record 15-16 (6-13 in conference); 8-7 at the Den, 7-9 away.
Ranked 1st in scoring offense.
Jeremiah Anderson All Region First Team; All Conference First Team South
Reyce Allen All Conference Honorable Mention
Caleb Hill All Conference Honorable Mention
Coastal Bend is located just in between Corpus Christi and San Antonio, Tx. The D1 Junior College boosts over 4,100 students and over 150 athletes.