The Chatelech senior boys won for the eighth time in nine outings with an 82-55 win over St. Thomas Aquinas 82-55 on Feb. 2.
"We were a bit shorthanded with only eight players and then two of our starters had to sit in the first quarter due to foul trouble, so it was a little touch and go in the first half," said Chat coach Sean Smith. "But our three subs played really well and we wore them down with our rebounding at both baskets. In the second half we were passing and defending really well and just basically pulled away."
Brendan Hickey just missed the rare double-double with 20 points and 18 rebounds while Avery Payne, Connor Weatherston and Justin Hickey had 19, 17 and 12 points respectively. Kyle Hamilton had a strong showing with nine points and five rebounds in just 10 minutes of play.
Last weekend, Chat had its eight-game winning streak snapped, losing 87-77 to the Regent Royals from Surrey in the final of the St. John's Jam tournament.
Chat coasted to a 77-52 win in game one against Kitsilano. Avery led the way with 27 points. Game two saw Chat beat the Elphinstone Cougars 76-57. Brendan led the Eagles in rebounding with 15 to accompany his 12 points.
In the final, the Royals jumped out to a quick six-point lead, which they never relinquished. Although Chat pulled to within five points on three separate occasions in the fourth quarter, the Royals were able to make big baskets when it counted the most.
Chat has a tough few weeks ahead with a rematch with Elphi and league leaders Seycove and Sutherland prior to the playoffs, which start Feb. 17.
The Cougars finished second at the Sentinel tournament two weekends ago as Brendan Barnum received a first team all-star award.
"The team really started to come together as we were already missing Jason [Chung], and Mackie [Gregory] ended up being fouled out of two of our three games," said head coach Mike Sopow. "After the tournament, we had a disappointing effort against Windsor. With the boys' minds on the ski hill they did not bring any hustle or show any heart. We looked like a team that had accepted a losing mentality."
Elphi rebounded last weekend with a solid effort, finishing third at the St. John's Jam.
Jason returned from injury, giving the Cougars a much-needed boost. Seeing limited minutes, he showed glimpses of his former self, but had obvious rust, according to Sopow.
The first game was a good showing against St. George's as Mackie came out guns a'blazing, lighting them up for 36 points and walking away with the game all-star. Even with Mackie's contribution, it was a close battle that was won at the buzzer by a lay-up from Mackie. Colton Davies was an emotional leader for the Cougars as he did all the little things necessary to win that don't show up on the score sheet.
Game two had Elphi facing Chat, and the Cougars again came out strong, building a good lead in the first quarter.
"But we got over-confident and let Chat gain momentum and get back in the game and gain a lead for themselves which they never let go of," said Sopow.
In the third place game, Elphi squared off against St. John's.
"We built a 12-point lead going into the second half and looked like we were going to walk away with the game, but again we let St. John's right back in and had to fight and claw out a victory," Sopow said.
"We seemed to finally shed our underachieving mentality, as even with the victory the team was obviously not happy with their effort in the game."
In senior girls action, Elphi defeated Chat 66-41 on Jan. 31.
Jessica Monk had her best game ever playing aggressively, had numerous steals, scored uncontested lay-ups and led all scorers with 24 points. Karli Davies added 14 and Lauren Fallis had 13. Diamond Smith and Leisha Hansen had nine points each for Chat.
On Feb. 2, Elphi travelled to West Vancouver, dropping a 47-45 decision.
The game was tied 20-20 at the half, but Elphi faltered a bit in the third quarter. With the score 43-28 and about five minutes remaining, Elphi started to press and went on a 15-4 run, but just fell short.
"We had an opportunity to tie when Jessica got off a final shot before the buzzer, but it hit the rim and bounced out. It was a very exciting finish," said Elphi coach Lynn Moran. "I was very pleased with the effort and felt the girls deserved at least a tie after the way they finished."
Ellen Fallis led the way with 18.
Last weekend Elphi played some of its best basketball of the season, capturing third place at the West Point Grey Academy tournament.
In game one, Elphi led all the way, defeating Pemberton 64-51.
Lauren and Ellen led the way with 24 and 23 points respectively.
In game two, Elphi started really strong and gave Mulgrave a bit of a scare. Mulgrave rallied after taking a time out and took the lead, but Elphi managed to keep the game within reach until about the middle of the third quarter.
"For whatever reason, we seemed to hit a wall, lacked energy and our shooting went completely flat," Moran said. "They scored 11 straight baskets and coasted to a 64-35 victory."
Lauren had 12 and Jessica added 10 points.
In the Cougars final game against West Point Grey, Elphi showed poise against the press, stole the ball repeatedly while pressing and passed the ball with precision, winning 70-42. All Elphi players got into the scoring act with Lauren leading the way with 22 while Ellen and Karli had 15 points each. Nicole Kinne had a very strong tournament bringing the ball up the floor with confidence against pressure.
"The team really pulled together all weekend and the girls can be proud of their efforts," added Moran.
Player of the game shirts went to Lauren, Jessica and Ellen.
Elphi played Sentinel and STA this week (results not available at press time) and head to Pemberton this weekend for a tournament.
