The Elphinstone Cougars senior boys' basketball team can't seem to find any luck against the Howe Sound Sounders this season.
Elphi lost its third straight to the boys from Squamish on Monday night 95-76 at the Elphi school gym.
Howe Sound lead 22-15 after the first quarter and led by only 10 at half-time 42-32, but some hot shooting in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter, when the Sounders outscored the Cougars 33-23, helped put the game away.
"I really thought we were going to turn the corner against Howe Sound," said Elphi coach Bill Sluis. "We were down only 11 points at the end of the third, but we lost our composure in the fourth quarter and it all fell apart."
Roddy Campbell finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists to lead the scoring for Elphi. Keegan Sluis chipped in with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Corey Winters added 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals.
The Sounders were led by 24 points from Max Roy, Jens Ourom's 17 points and 16 points from Jeremy Galley.
Elphi rebounded later in the week, splitting a pair against Lillooet and Pemberton on the road Tuesday and edging Rockridge in North Vancouver on Wednesday night.
Winters had 26 and Keegan chipped in with 21 points in the win over Lillooet. Keegan led the way with 22 in the eight-point loss against Pemberton.
"We were tied going into the third against Pemberton, but we had a small bench and just ran out of steam," Sluis said. "What was surprising was the game against Rockridge. I had only six guys, but it was probably our best team effort this season. If we could have kept that team concept all year long, we would have had more success. When people get tired and frustrated, they tend to think individual first rather than thinking about the team."
Elphi will begin the playoffs later next week.
The Chatelech senior boys had a slow week on the court.
Tuesday night's game against St. Thomas Aquinas (STA) was cancelled after the team was stranded in Langdale due to B.C. Ferries delays.
Head coach Bruce Haynes said he was trying to re-schedule the game.
Chat played at home on Thursday night against Collingwood (results were not available) and were supposed to play in Seycove last night (Friday). But due to injuries and a lack of players, Seycove forfeited the game to the Eagles.
Chat is in Chilliwack for a tournament this weekend, then plays STA and Windsor next week.
