The Elphinstone senior boys basketball team finished their season last week finishing third in the Howe Sound/North Shore playoffs. The North Shore zone has been very competitive for several years now, with the last five years producing two top 10 teams at the provincial tournament each season. Last season, Collingwood and STA represented the Howe Sound league with Collingwood finishing as provincial champions.
The Elphinstone Cougars started the playoffs as a number three seed and got to host their first playoff game against number six seed Chatelech. Elphinstone jumped out to a commanding 23-4 first quarter lead, but Chatelech did not give up and battled back to cut the Cougars’ lead to 11 at the half. Elphinstone did persevere in the second half to win 82-42. Kai Moore was voted player of the game, not only for his excellent play on the court, but also for the leadership he demonstrated on and off the court.
Next up for the Cougars was number two seed Seycove Seahawks. The Cougars played one of their best games of the season, maintaining a double-digit lead for most of the game. Unfortunately for the Cougars, they ran into foul trouble in the fourth quarter with three of their five starters fouling out of the game.
With a nine-point lead and a couple minutes left in the game, B.C. team player Chris Ross and Italian exchange student Carlo Saccardi took advantage of Elphinstone’s foul trouble, erasing Elphinstone’s lead and carrying their team to a hard fought victory. Sam Knight earned player of the game for Elphinstone.
The double knockout playoff format provided the Elphinstone Cougars with another chance to make it to the finals.
The next challenge for Elphin-stone was defending provincial champions, the Collingwood Cavaliers. The first half of the game was a back and forth battle with Collingwood’s 131 zone defence making it tough for Elphinstone to get any rhythm on offence. Elphinstone led at the half with a score of 30 to 28.
In the second half Elphinstone was able to make some adjustments and take advantage of their size, cruising to a 71-48 win. Liame Selmes finished with 15 points and was voted player of the game.
Seycove upset first seed STA 82-79, so Elphinstone played STA in their next game to try to earn a trip to the final. STA’s up-tempo pressure defence proved too much for Elphinstone to handle. Too many turnovers led to too many easy baskets for STA and STA was able to earn a rematch with Seycove in the Howe Sound Finals.
The Elphinstone Senior Boys finished the season with a respectable 16 wins and 12 losses. The guys battled hard every game and were respectful competitors, representing our school and community well. At the end of the season, the North Shore coaches vote players to a first and second all-star team. Cam Longman was selected as a first team all star and Sam Knight made the second team.
– Submitted by Mike Supow
