Offensive powerhouses Josh Charles and Travis McDonald were strong as usual on Tuesday when the Cowichan Secondary Thunderbirds played host to G.P. Vanier for a senior boys basketball contest, but it was the team's depth that led to a 72-48 victory.
"We got contributions from other sources," head coach Sandeep Heer noted. "Among our starters, Jordy Frost and Braydon Aumen did a lot more offensively than they have in the past, and Tyler Hudson off the bench contributed offensively."
Cowichan led for the entire game, but victory wasn't assured until the T-Birds pulled ahead in the fourth quarter.
"It was kind of a weird game," Heer said. "We kept getting up 10 or 12 points on them, but we couldn't really break it open and get it to 16 or 18 points and get a comfortable lead."
Vanier was ranked third on the Island after the last coaches poll, one spot back of Cowichan. This was the first meeting between the teams, however.
"We didn't know what to expect because we hadn't seen them, but they beat Dover Bay last week," Heer said. "We thought they must be a decent team, and they were a decent team. Some of our strengths are some of their weaknesses, and it played out like that."
The T-Birds visited Nanaimo to play Dover Bay on Thursday evening.