The chip-on-their-shoulder ConVal Cougars are off to a strong start in their NHIAA Division II boys’ basketball season, with a winning record and a successful holiday tournament appearance.

Last winter’s season only brought one win, but the matured Cougars put in the offseason work to right the ship, and it’s already showing.

ConVal has regular season wins over Plymouth and Bishop Brady, and over the holiday break, the Cougars battled their way through the Capital Area Holiday Classic tournament, beating Merrimack Valley and Concord before falling to preseason No. 1 Pembroke in the finals on Monday night, 66-47.

“It was a good test for us here,” said ConVal head coach Jay Starr after the game at Pembroke. “The whole three days, we played Valley, Concord, and to top it off with these guys, it’s a really good opportunity for us to come out and measure up a little bit early on and mix things up, see what we’ve got.”

The Cougars played well against Pembroke Monday but did themselves in with turnovers, missed paint shots and Spartan offensive rebounds. Still, what ConVal does well was on display. Senior captain Ryan Close (15 points) is a three-level scorer and hardworking defender.

“Ryan’s been a leader for us for two years now,” Starr said. “And it shows on the court. He gets a little emotional, which is fine with me. I like that grit that he has.”

Junior Max Cail (14 points) is a high-flyer with a high motor who had an outstanding tournament; both he and Close were named to the all-tournament team.

“Max was phenomenal against Valley and against Concord,” Starr said. “He was just unstoppable. That little pull-up that he has – he’s developed some things in his game that are really going to help us.”

Senior captain Zachary Collins (nine points) is a sure ballhandler and a lethal shooter. When all three are on, the Cougars can fill it up on offense.

ConVal is a bit undersized, but Sam Davis is up for most tasks down low, and Keith Whitney, Ryan Wilson and James Healey can all contribute in the paint as well.

Starr said his biggest takeaway from the Cap City tournament was that his defense is ready to go. The Cougars are athletic and fast, and when they’re locked in on defense, the fast-break points follow.

“We like to get the ball out and run a little bit, so our scores are not as low as some other defensive teams are,” Starr said. “We don’t slow the ball down or anything like that. Our defense can actually play man-to-man and lock teams up straight up and not have to gimmick anything. I was pleasantly surprised with that.”

Last season, ConVal was still getting every team’s best shot, a vestige of their 2018-2022 run that saw a share of the COVID-shortened championship and a state title runner-up trophy.

“This year, we thought coming in that teams were going to take us lightly, or maybe not be ready to go,” Starr said. “But I think we’ve proved, at least coming up here to these teams that are here, and word travels fast, that we’re here to compete and play and we can play with the top guys.”

ConVal is back to the regular season at home against Coe-Brown on Jan. 7.