The Chatelech and Elphinstone senior boys tuned up for the playoffs with a hard-fought league game last Thursday in Gibsons that was won 88-73 by the Eagles.
The opening quarter was dominated by Chat as a swarming defence limited the Cougars' opportunities, while the Eagles had their way offensively, scoring seemingly at will with uncontested lay-ups for a 25-11 lead after the opening frame.
The onslaught continued for the first five minutes of the second quarter as Chat pushed the lead to 35-18, but a time-out by Elphi coach Mike Sopow seemed to calm his squad, who went on a bit of a run to end the quarter and half down by eight at 42-34.
Jason Chung, who has missed most of the past few months due to injury, showed signs of returning to form, pacing the Cougars' attack in the opening minutes of the third quarter as Elphi went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to only two points.
The key moment in the game might have been a time-out by Chat coach Sean Smith, which seemed to rally his troops and quell the Cougars' momentum.
The Eagles went on a 23-8 run after the time-out and ended the quarter up 67-50.
Elphi tried to rally a bit in the fourth, but the Eagles had the game pretty much in hand.
Connor Weatherston led the Eagles with 33 while Avery Payne added 19. Mackie Gregory was high man for Elphi with 19, while Jason added 14.
"That was a turning point [the time-out], but I don't want to take too much credit for that. All I did is tell the guys what they already know, that when we play hard we can beat anyone," said Smith after the game. "That time-out was really a pride check. Elphi had pulled within two and I asked our guys whether they wanted to win, because they were playing like they wanted to lose.
"All credit to Elphi. They never quit. Mike's a great coach, but our guys were flat today. It was probably one of our worst efforts of the season, and despite that, we managed to win. But if we play this way in the playoffs, we're going to get beat."
Chat opened the playoffs last night (Feb. 17) against Collingwood, while Elphi opened against Seycove. The winners of both games advance to the second round starting Monday, while the losers were done. Results of both games were past deadline.
Juvenile boys
The Cougars saw their dreams of a North Shore title dashed last week due to a familiar opponent.
The West Vancouver Highlanders beat Elphi 52-39 Feb. 9 in the North Shore semifinals. Elphi started the playoffs with a 42-38 win over Argyle Feb. 7.
Elphi played St. Thomas Aquinas Wednesday night (past Coast Reporter deadline) with the winner claiming the number three North Shore seed for the Vancouver and District playoffs set to start next week.
Juvenile girls
Elphi saw their season come to a close as they dropped their first round playoff game 52-30 to Handsworth on Feb. 8.
Senior girls
Elphi played their last league road game last week, travelling to Sentinel and losing 70-43.
Ellen Fallis led the scoring with 18. Prior to the game, all graduating seniors from both teams were presented with a bouquet of flowers courtesy of the Sentinel coach.
A couple days later Elphi hosted STA and got off to a good start leading 14-8 after one. STA took their first lead with a couple minutes left in the second quarter and led 29-25 at the half.
As has been the case throughout the season, Elphi's shooters were flat in the second half. STA led the rest of the way, winning 67-42. Ellen led all scorers with 19, while both Karli Davies and Lauren Fallis grabbed some timely rebounds and chipped in with eight points apiece.
Last weekend Elphi travelled to Pemberton where they went 2-1. The round robin tournament ended with three teams (Eric Hamber, Howe Sound and Elphi) with identical records. Only two teams could move on to the final with the tiebreaker being decided on the number of points against. As a result, Elphi missed going to the finals and placed third.
Elphi lost 59-37 to Eric Hamber in its opener. Nicole Kinne had an outstanding game defensively and led the team with 11 points, while Lauren and Ellen added nine points each.
Game two was a thriller as Elphi hung on to beat Pemberton 62-60. Ellen had a great game, scoring 25, while Karli and Lauren added 14 and 11 points respectively.
Game three was a scrappy affair that saw Elphi come out on top 36-29.
Elphi had a balanced attack with six different players recording points. Lauren dominated the defensive boards with 15 rebounds. Nicole had her best tournament of the year and was chosen as a tournament all-star.
Elphi will play their final games of the season this weekend as they host Chat, Pemberton and King George in their own Cougar Classic tournament. Games begin today (Feb. 18) and continue Saturday with the final at 2:15 p.m.
