The Elphinstone junior boys continued to roll right along, moving to 5-1 in North Shore league play after a 69-55 home court win over Handsworth Monday afternoon.
The Cougars came up with a balanced scoring attack against the Royals with consistent scoring from TJ Turenne, Nate Haglund, Nolan LeWarne and Kevin Ravina. Haden Bush also played a strong game both offensively and defensively.
"We played a strong game and used our fast break well," said coach Denis Turenne.
In other league action, Elphi blasted Collingwood last Wednesday (Jan. 11) 56-17. Elphi returned to action last night (Thursday) for a league game at Carson Graham. The Cougars play host to West Vancouver next Thursday, Jan. 26 set for a 4:30 p.m. tip-off.
The Cougars also had an impressive showing at the North Shore Junior Invitational Tournament last weekend where they finished fourth among some of the top teams in the Lower Mainland.
Elphi upset Terry Fox 35-32 in the opening round Jan. 12, but fell to a tough Burnaby South squad 60-22 in the quarter finals on Jan. 13.
Elphi then faced Carson Graham on Saturday, picking up a 54-38 win to advance to the fourth/fifth place game where they beat the Pitt Meadows Marauders 68-46.
In senior girls action, Chatelech hosted a five-team round robin tournament last weekend featuring the Eagles, Cougars, Eric Hamber, King George and Cariboo Hill.
Chat battled to a 27-27 tie with Eric Hamber on Saturday, while the Cougars lost 45-34 to Eric Hamber and beat Cariboo Hill 43-31 and King George 55-31.
"I thought the teams all played pretty good basketball. It was pretty evenly matched," said Elphi coach Lynn Moran. "Eric Hamber was definitely the strongest team here. They were outstanding defensively. They basically shut down my best player. They were also very good offensively; they actually passed the ball really nicely. Offensively they're quick and they move the ball really well."
Moran highlighted the strong play of Chloe LeSire and Renet McLean as keys to the weekend's success.
In league action, the Cougars continued their strong play of late despite dropping a 58-50 decision to Sutherland on Jan. 12 to fall to 1-5 in league play.
Chat dropped to 0-7 in league play with a 56-27 loss at home to West Vancouver on Jan. 9 and a 64-21 home loss to Sentinel on Monday.
Elphi's bantam boys lost 48-42 at home to Sutherland on Jan. 11 to drop to 1-2 in league play and 3-2 overall. The Cougars played host to Don Ross from Squamish on Wednesday afternoon. A result was not available at press time.
In junior girls action, Pender Harbour lost 51-4 to West Vancouver on Jan. 11 to go to 1-1 in league play.
The Elphi juvenile boys dropped to 1-3 in league play following a 44-34 loss to Argyle Jan. 9 and a 52-34 loss to Sentinel on Jan. 11. They travelled to Handsworth Wednesday night. A result was not available at press time.
The Elphi juvenile girls dropped to 0-4 in league play, despite playing well in a 34-27 loss to Collingwood on Jan. 10.
