The Elphinstone Cougars gave the home fans lots to cheer about last weekend in Gibsons, finishing second at the annual senior boys basketball Cougar Classic.
After a poor showing last year, Elphi came out with purpose in its opening game Friday afternoon, besting rival Chatelech 67-31 in front of a packed gymnasium.
Brian Jones scored a game high 14 points, and Dayton Moore was awarded player of the game for his hot shooting and strong defensive presence. Kyle Tejpar from Rockridge amazed the crowd with his long range ability, winning Friday night's three-point showdown.
Along with Elphi, West Point Grey (WPGA), St. Johns and Brooks advanced to the semifinals on Saturday morning, while Chat, Howe Sound from Squamish, Pender Harbour and Rockridge from North Vancouver were relegated to the consolation side.
The Cougars were pitted against the St. Johns Eagles who beat Howe Sound in a close first round game. Elphi put in another strong effort on the defensive end of the floor, holding the Eagles to 40 points as they poured in 79 themselves.
Aidan Leinberger was named player of the game for his outstanding hustle, pulling down numerous rebounds and scoring 10 points. WPGA beat Brooks 70-54 in their semifinal, with WPGA's big man Matt Jefferson dropping 17 points. Finally, after two years and four tournaments together, the Cougars were ready to face the WPGA Wolves in the final on Saturday night.Wolves' star guard Derek Sing started the game, hitting five consecutive shots, as they jumped out to a 20-7 lead. The provincially-ranked Wolves proved too much for Elphi, as they won 61-49 to win the tournament. Derek earned tournament MVP honours, averaging 22.3 points over three games. Tournament all-stars included: Dayton for Elphi, Kyle for Rockridge, Reet Sidhu for St. Johns, Kyle Girroir from Pender Harbour, Matt Jefferson for WPGA and Mike Emly for Brooks.
Brooks finished third after beating St. Johns in the third/fourth game. On the consolation side, Rockridge finished fifth after beating Howe Sound in the fifth/sixth game while Pender was seventh and Chat was eighth.
Chat could have had a better finish as they were up by 20 against Howe Sound in their second game, but the Eagles ran into foul trouble, and before the final whistle were down to only three players; thus, the game was called.
The Eagles, who started slowly this season after securing Garry Nohr as their head coach, were not initially in the North Shore League, but league officials have said if Chat gets in enough exhibition games, they will be allowed into the AA playoffs.
"I put together the team about three weeks ago," said coach Nohr. "The kids seem to be keen, and now they realize there is a coach. A lot of them are Grade 12s so this is their last shot. For a group that hasn't played that much together, I think they did pretty good last weekend."
Nohr gave a lot of credit to the North Shore coaches for allowing Chat an opportunity to play and compete in the playoffs.
"It's not a wasted year and that's the main thing. At least the kids get a chance to play and compete," he added.- With files from Brian Jones/Elphinstone Secondary School
