The Cowichan Secondary Thunderbirds got the senior boys basketball season off to a solid start last weekend by winning two of three games.
Theo Aeby averaged nearly 28 points a game and Brandon Reymerink was consistent throughout as the T-Birds tied Belmont and Argyle with the best records of the Thunderbird Invitational.
The T-Birds beat the Dover Bay Dolphins 78-61 in their season opener on Friday. Aeby scored 29 points, Reymerink had 15 and Jeremy Perkins and Dawson Tomich each put up nine. The team nailed 13 three-pointers, including two by Eston Unrau before he sprained his angle in the first quarter.
“We played well together on offence, and the guys played with a lot of energy on defence,” head coach Lucky Walia said.
Aeby scored another 24 the next morning and Reymerink put up 15, but the T-Birds lost 68-51 to Argyle.
“Argyle is a solid team, but we were pretty sluggish,” Walia said. “We turned it over quite a bit, and were out-rebounded.”
On Saturday afternoon, Reymerink exploded for 31 points and Aeby added 30 as the T-Birds got by Belmont 83-77.
“We played well,” Walia said. “We were energetic, and active with our help defence, and played with good pace on offence. Belmont is a strong team; they have good size, and guard play. Belmont had defeated Argyle the previous night and, as much as we were sluggish in the morning, we responded well to compete with Belmont.”
Cowichan will host their Welcome Back Tournament this coming Thursday to Saturday, with games at both the James Street and Quamichan campuses. The T-Birds tip off at James Street against Parkland at
12:45 a.m. on Thursday, and the tournament final is at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
“Ideally, we will pick up where we left off for the upcoming Welcome Back Tournament,” Walia said. “In particular, we will focus on improving our help side defence.”
