The Cowichan Secondary Thunderbirds split their first two games and kept it close in the third as they opened the senior boys basketball season with their own Invitational Tournament last weekend.
Cowichan led 38-33 at halftime against Dover Bay last Friday, and went on to prevail 81-60 behind a 20-point outing by Brandon Reymerink, 18 from Jaden Bhopal and 13 from Herman Parmar.
“Herman and Pablo de Garaizabal Rafiq impacted the game on the defensive end, causing several turnovers and both recording multiple steals,” Cowichan coach Casey Parsons noted.
The T-Birds trailed 46-38 at halftime of their next game against North Vancouver’s Argyle Pipers, and didn’t get any closer than that in the second half, ultimately falling 95-54. Cowichan still had three scorers in double digits as Reymerink had 12, Bhopal had 11 and Jeremy Perkins added 10.
Cowichan wrapped up the tournament with a 70-66 loss to Belmont that saw some massive momentum swings. Belmont went up 11-2 in the early going, but Cowichan came back to hold a 22-15 edge after the first quarter. Belmont then led 33-31 at halftime. The T-Birds trailed by two with less than a minute and a half to play, but Belmont held on to win by four. Bhopal had 10 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 22, while Reymerink added 12.
Parsons was proud of what he called a “gutsy effort” by his team.
“The team struggled offensively, but made key stops on the defensive end to keep themselves in the game,” he said.
The T-Birds are hosting their Welcome Back Tournament this weekend. Games started Thursday and run Friday at the James Street and Quamichan campuses, and Saturday at James Street.
kevin.rothbauer@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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