Zach Waddington’s nine steals sparked a come-from-behind victory for Cowichan Secondary last Thursday as the Thunderbirds locked up first place in the North Island senior boys AAAA basketball league by beating Dover Bay 78-73.
“Zach set the tone for all of us on defence,” head coach Lucky Walia said. “He is relentlessly competitive.”
The T-Birds trailed 45-35 at halftime, and allowed three quick points at the opening of the third quarter. A 16-0 run gave the T-Birds the lead, which they never relinquished.
Noah Charles anchored the Cowichan offence with 34 points and 16 rebounds. Nirmal Hayer made three three-pointers as part of an 11-point night, Eston Unrau had 10 points, and Matthew Miller hit two key threes.
The T-Birds will host the North Island championship this week. Cowichan plays Dover Bay at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Vanier plays Dover Bay at 7 p.m. on Friday, and Cowichan plays Vanier at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The winning team will go to the Island tournament as the No.1 seed from the North and have a bye to the semifinals.