They didn’t win any games this season, but members of the Chemainus Secondary School Cougars midget boys basketball team learned a lot and gained valuable experience.
During their season finale tournament at Quamichan Friday, the Cougars showed flashes of brilliance in their two games but just couldn’t string together longer periods of consistency.
Chemainus led Duncan Christian School 8-7 after the first quarter of its opening game and then came from behind to creep ahead 20-19 at halftime when Tyler Harvath hit a long three-pointer just before the buzzer.
But DCS pulled away for a 34-26 advantage at the end of the third quarter and went on to a 46-36 victory.
“Our Cougars haven’t encountered a press yet this season and I think it rattled them a bit,” noted coach Graeme Arkell. “I called a time-out and explained a stack strategy on the elbow, but the boys didn’t execute it properly.”
Max O’Meara had a great game with 11 points from some determined drives to the hoop. “His quick speed and sharp dribbling really stood out,” added Arkell.
After playing the early game, the Cougars didn’t get back on the floor until late in the afternoon.
“I think the long wait between games between our 8:30 game and 3:10 game took a toll on us,” conceded Arkell.
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Chemainus was still well in control of its second game against Shawnigan Lake School, leading 23-11 at the half, and maintained momentum until the end of the third quarter before things fell apart.
“Our Cougars came out so tired in the fourth quarter,” Arkell observed. “There were times when they stopped playing. I brought in subs, but everybody was so tired. It was nice that everybody got to play, too.”
The Cougars eventually gave up the big lead and lost 43-39.
They followed their game plan by getting the ball to Owen Jaggers in the post to build the big lead. He was strong going up with the ball and lit up the scoreboard for 26 points.
“Both games could have gone either way,” summed up Arkell. “I spoke with the boys afterward and told them I was proud of their effort. They’ve really improved a lot this season.”