The rapid improvement of the Chemainus Cougars nearly resulted in the junior boys basketball team’s first victory of the season last Thursday.
The Cougars were edged 47-45 in a nailbiter at Duncan Christian School.
“It was our best game of the season,” conceded Chemainus coach Casey Parsons.
The Cougars overcame a slow start after trailing 14-5 by the end of the first quarter to make a game of it. They sliced into the lead slightly in the second quarter and faced a 25-18 deficit at halftime, but enjoyed a 27-22 scoring advantage during the second half and fell just short.
“In the second (quarter), we started securing rebounds and went on a 6-0 run to end the half,” noted Parsons. “In the third, we continued to get some stops and played with a chip on our shoulder.”
Titus Kennedy converted several tough layups that helped Chemainus take a 38-37 lead going into the fourth quarter.
“The final quarter was a good old fashioned grind, seeing both teams get stops, and the game went back and forth until the very end,” Parsons indicated. “Unfortunately, we were unable to get a few shots to fall in the final possessions but both (assistant coach) Graeme (Arkell) and I were very proud of how hard the guys battled as a team.”
Kennedy led the way with 24 points in a tremendous effort, but many others made valuable contributions.
Jordan Allinott scored five points, Kai Kasting cooly went four-for-four from the free throw line in the second quarter by hitting nothing but net on all four shots and Cyler Wilson added a big three-pointer late in the game.
The Cougars will attempt to get into the win column for the first time again on Thursday at 3:45 p.m. at Chemainus Secondary School against Brentwood College.
