The Chemainus Junior B Cougars basketball team knows it can do better and that’s a good thing.
The Cougars were in tough against Quamichan Lightning Thursday at Quamichan and had periods of time when they had the upper hand, particularly with rebounding, despite a 40-29 loss. It’ll just take time to become more consistent.
“Although we lost and the guys were frustrated, it was encouraging because you can tell they believe we can win these close games against bigger schools, and they’re right,” noted coach Casey Parsons.
The players are making a marked improvement with their team play under the direction of Parsons and assistant Graeme Arkell, which makes future more positive results all the more likely.
The game got off to a slow start for both teams, with Quamichan leading 8-2 after the first quarter and 19-10 at halftime. The last few minutes of the first half seemed to pass very quickly, with new scorekeepers not stopping the clock on a few occasions.
“Quamichan played a 3-2 zone the first half which is something our guys hadn’t prepped for during practices this season,” Parsons indicated. “However, we did a pretty good job of getting the ball to positions that allowed our big men to get some easy seals and finishes at the rim.”
Brayden Screaton easily worked inside on Quamichan and scored most of Chemainus’ first half points.
“In the second half, Quamichan went to a 2-3 zone on defense and our guys did a solid job of making reads that got the ball to the short corners for open jump shots, but unfortunately we struggled to knock them down,” Parsons pointed out.
Cuyler Wilson and Koen de Wit played with lots of energy, the coach added, pressuring the ball defensively and creating a couple of turnovers that led to fast break opportunities late in the game.
Screaton finished with 12 points, Wilson added five, including a three-pointer, and Aiden Milton scored four.
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