The Elphinstone senior boys basketball team got off to a promising start for their season.
Their first game was against Rockridge Secondary. Jesse Umayat came out hot, knocking down a couple of threes and set the tone early for the younger members of the team. Elphinstone built an early lead and never looked back, going on to beat Rockridge 76 to 42.
Next up for the team was provincially third-ranked Westsyde Secondary as the team travelled to Kamloops for a tournament. Again the team came out firing on all cylinders with Gus Goerzen this time knocking down the threes, building a double-digit lead in the first quarter to quiet the raucous Westsyde crowd. Using their strength and size advantage, Westsyde started to hit the boards hard and with the crowd behind them they rallied back and built a double-digit lead of their own. Elphi continued to compete and play good defence, but they struggled to keep Westsyde off of the offensive boards and that proved to be their downfall. Westsyde ended up winning the game 79 to 56 and eventually went on to win the tournament against Dutchess Park from Prince George.
Next up for Elphi was sixth-ranked Khalsa. True to fashion, the guys came out strong again and built an early lead in the first quarter, but again let Khalsa claw back into the game in the second quarter. The game went back and forth with a few lead changes and Khalsa ended up ahead early in the fourth, but the Elphi guys showed a lot of heart and stepped up their defensive intensity, shutting down Khalsa and strolling to an 83 to 64 victory. Phillip Forgarty won the game star award for his prowess on the glass and his effort on defence. Joseph Schembri also had a notable game for the Elphinstone Cougars. Joseph hustled hard and hit the floor numerous times for loose balls and was also able to penetrate the Khalsa defence, creating opportunities for himself and his teammates.
The final match of the tournament for Elphi was against Sahali. This game was a competitive battle throughout as both teams were evenly matched. Sahali looked to match Elphi’s pressure defence, but one-man press break Noah Woodin handled it with ease and controlled the pace of the game. Elphi’s deep bench proved too much for Sahali as they couldn’t match the Cougars’ intensity in the fourth quarter. Elphinstone won the game 85 to 78. Noah Woodin was the game star for Elphinstone’s final game and Phillip Fogarty received a tournament all-star award.
Elphinstone’s home tournament is Dec. 15 and 16. If you want to come out and support the team, games start at 11:30 a.m., Friday morning.
– Submitted by Mike Sopow
