The new season of high school basketball is underway with teams up and down the Coast starting the new campaign with a mix of exhibition and North Shore League games.
After finishing third on the North Shore last year, the Elphinstone Grade 9 (juvenile) boys team opened with a 46-37 exhibition loss to Seycove on Dec. 1 and a tough 45-44 home exhibition loss to Windsor on Dec. 3.
The Cougars rebounded with a 37-29 win over Argyle to open regular season play on Dec. 10.
The team returns the same core of players led by head coach Jason Bristow.
Elphi was also at a tournament in mid-December.
With only nine players available due to academic suspension, the Cougars beat talented metro Vancouver Squad Lord Tweedsmuir on a last second jumper by Ben Luporini to secure a third place finish at the Capilano University high school tournament.
It was a gritty win for the undersized and undermanned Cougars who were down all game.
Bristow expects big things for this highly dedicated group.
“The core of this team loves basketball and they play every day, often in the mornings before practice,” he said.
The Cougars ended December with another close loss, 37-29 to Collingwood.
The Elphi bantam boys are off to a 3-2 start in league play with wins over Sutherland (46-32), Sentinel (39-27) and Seycove (48-44) with losses coming to St. Thomas Aquinas (56-37) and Collingwood (66-17).
In bantam girls play, Chatelech is playing an exhibition schedule this season. So far the Eagles have played two games, losing 37-25 to Sentinel and 53-36 to Rockridge.
In junior boys, the Cougars are 2-2 overall with a 1-1 record in exhibition play and a 1-1 record in league play.
They beat Collingwood 53-52 in exhibition action on Dec. 2 and blasted Howe Sound 52-21 in league play, while dropping a 71-42 decision to Sentinel in league play and a 52-21 decision to STA in exhibition play.
In senior girls play, the Eagles dropped a 57-16 decision to Rockridge, while the Cougars are also 0-1 in league play following a 63-15 loss to Sutherland.
In senior boys, the Cougars are 0-4 overall, dropping a 60-20 game to Bodwell and a 89-44 loss to Collingwood in league play and 60-34 and 51-33 losses in exhibition play to Argyle and Windsor.
All teams resume action next week after the Christmas break.
