These kids are not only all right, they’re great.
The Chemainus Cougars junior boys basketball team really came into its own last week, with two impressive wins on home court at Chemainus Secondary School.
All the things the Cougars have been working on under the direction of head coach Casey Parsons and assistant Graeme Arkell came together, as they defeated Brentwood College 54-38 last Wednesday and Queen Margaret’s School 72-22 Thursday.
The guys are clearly on a roll and it can at least be partly attributed to stronger starts.
The Cougars burst out of the gate well against Brentwood and took a 17-12 lead after the first quarter.
“Oakley Gauthier and Jordan Allinott checked into the game about halfway through the first and really sparked our defense, creating several turnovers that led to transition lay-ups,’ noted Parsons.
Ironically, things stalled a bit in the second quarter which has usually been better in games when the Cougars took a while to get untracked. The team struggled to take care of the basketball and threw some sloppy passes several times on consecutive possessions.
As a result, the Cougars fell behind 25-23 at halftime.
“In the third quarter the guys got stops on defense and made good reads in the half court on offense, which led to trips to the free throw line,” Parsons pointed out.
The Cougars regained a 37-31 lead after three quarters. “In the fourth, our guys kept the pedal down and closed things out on an 11-2 run,” Parsons added.
Allinott led the way with 14 points, Gauthier had 12 and Cuyler Wilson contributed eight.
Ten different players scored points the next day in a great team effort during the 50-point win over QMS.
The ironic thing is QMS actually applied significant pressure on the Cougars’ back court from the beginning, but quick ball movement allowed them to break the press the majority of the time.
“I thought our guys moved the ball well against their pressure,” Parsons concurred. “I think we also did a nice job of having active hands on defense which led to creating a lot of turnovers on their drives in the half court. It was nice that everyone got lots of floor time and were able to contribute on the scoresheet.”
QMS was snake-bitten and missed an abundance of easy baskets during the game that would have made the game a lot closer. The Cougars made the most of their opportunities throughout the game, but missed a bunch of easy shots themselves later in the game. Fortunately, by that time, it didn’t matter.
Aiden Milton got the scoring started for the Cougars and before long they opened up a 17-0 lead. No slow start this time.
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Brayden Screaton got inside for six points, Kai Kasting, Gavin Robinson and Gauthier added baskets and Cuyler Wilson hit a three-pointer before QMS finally got on the board. Chemainus led 24-3 at the end of the first quarter.
The Cougars slowed down a little in the second quarter, but still built a 35-7 lead at halftime. Parsons utilized his entire bench so all the boys had plenty of playing time.
The offense kept rolling for a 60-12 lead at the end of three quarters and the Cougars actually held just a 12-10 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter, as QMS kept fighting hard until the end despite the large discrepancy in the score.
Screaton led the team with 14 points; Kasting, Robinson and Gauthier each scored 10; Connor Kerr added nine with some nifty shooting; Tyson Elliot had six; Milton contributed five; Wilson and Allinott both scored three and hard-working Koen de Wit netted two.
The Cougars are now primed for the Junior Boys B League tournament, exact date to be announced.