The Howe Sound Sounders had a much brighter trip last week to the Sunshine Coast.
In early January, the senior boys basketball squad made a trip to Sechelt where the Chatelech Eagles blew them off the court. But last Thursday (Feb. 10), it was a much different story as the Sounders dominated the Elphinstone Cougars in Gibsons, winning 84-53.
The Sounders jumped out to an early 10-2 first quarter lead and fended off a late Cougars' run to end the quarter up 23-15.
The second quarter was all defence and turnovers as neither team found much shooting luck. Howe Sound held a 14-11 scoring edge in the quarter to lead 37-26 at the half.
But the third quarter proved to be the Sounders best 10 minutes of the night as they used a tight, pressure defense that was a nightmare for Elphi on the shooting end.
The Sounders hit all their shots and blew Elphi off the court, outscoring them 28-11 to virtually seal the victory.
The fourth quarter got a bit chippy at the end with a few players from both teams exchanging words on the floor, but both coaches managed to keep their teams in check.
Jeremy Galley was high man for Howe Sound as he scored 36 points, 23 of which came in the first half, while Pindar Dhinsda added 22 points.
Following the game, Sounders' coach Ron Roberts said he was pleased with the effort, but was not happy with the fourth quarter shenanigans.
"I just had a quick meeting with the boys in the locker room and told them that those things are not acceptable," Roberts said. "I'd like to apologize to Elphi, their coach and the fans here. There is no place for stuff like that. As for the game, I was very happy with the effort. We had a little letdown towards the end of the first half, but in the third quarter we established ourselves again and we really put the game out of reach."
Roberts said the win was key as the Sounders prepare for the playoffs.
"We have two games left and if we can win out, we have a shot to be in the fourth/fifth place playoff game," he said. "Chat and Collingwood are the top teams and either one of those teams should win the zone, but the playoffs are single knockout. If we play the way I know we're capable of, upsets are always possible."
As it turns out, HSSS senior boys basketball team is the seventh seed in the North Shore finals.
They play tonight (Feb. 18) at Collingwood vs number two seed Chatelech at 5:30 p.m. The loser is out and the winner plays again Tuesday (Feb. 22).
