Players on the youngest basketball team at Chemainus Secondary School are getting into game action and gaining experience.
The Chemainus Midget Cougars (Grade 7-8) played their first game of the season last Tuesday at home and lost 48-30 to Frances Kelsey.
“Unfortunately, our Cougars had a rough start to the game,” noted co-coach Graeme Arkell. “They seemed to have some jitters and nerves. Not too surprising, I suppose, since this was our Midgets’ first game of the season.”
The Cougars fell behind 13-5 in the first quarter before Arkell felt he needed to reinforce a few points with the players.
“I called a time-out and spoke quite frankly about the need to play proper man-on-man defence by staying on our checks and being between our man and the hoop,” he indicated. “I also expressed my concern about poor passing that led to a series of turnovers. We made it too easy on our opponents by just throwing the ball away.”
The second quarter brought much better play, but Chemainus was still outscored 8-4.
“We were pretty soft on our offensive rebounding,” Arkell pointed out. “Most second chance opportunities were uncontested. More hustle was needed on defence because Frances Kelsey was able to burn us in transition with some fast breaks.”
He shortened the bench in the third quarter and the team’s better players got untracked.
“We shrunk the deficit and managed to make the game competitive at 36-25,” Arkell observed. “However, near the start of the fourth frame, Frances Kelsey went on an eight-point run to put the game out of reach.”
Tyler Harvath finished with a high shooting percentage and led the offense with 18 points.
“What really stood out to me was his resilience,” Arkell praised. “Despite taking a couple of tumbles on trips and loose balls, he maintained his speed and willingness to drive to the hoop.”
Honourable mention went to Owen Jaggers for his good positioning and quick hands that resulted in some nifty steals.
“As the game progressed, he began using his great height to his advantage by grabbing rebounds,” Arkell added. “To improve, I would like to see him make a habit of using two hands when grabbing the ball, rather than swatting it with one.”