Charles Hays Rainmakers senior boys basketball team started their season this weekend, with a play day in Terrace.
The Rainmakers played two games throughout the day, before heading back to Prince Rupert.
Their first matchup was against Bulkley Valley Christian School out of Smithers.
The Rainmakers won easily, crushing their opponent by a final score of 78-24. Despite the lopsided numbers on the scoreboard Rainmakers’ coach Ryan Bishop said there were definitely holes in his team’s game.
“Offensively at times we got sloppy, and we have got to work on controlling the boards and limiting turnovers,” Bishop said.
With a big lead at half Bishop elected to sit some of his starters for the remainder of the game.
“We got everybody minutes, which is good to get everyone involved like that,” Bishop said.
The team was led in scoring by strong performances from Kai Leighton, who scored 31 points, and Daniel Cachero, who scored 13 points.
Coach Bishop said that Cachero had his biggest impact on the flow of the game, controlling the game’s pace from his spot at point guard.
The competition at these play days isn’t at the level the Rainmakers expect to play at other tournaments and at provincials, but Bishop said that these games are good stepping stones.
“It’s a good warm-up game for us as coaches to see our team and know what we need to do in terms of things we need to teach,” Bishop said. “When we play quad-A schools or ranked double-A schools we can’t make the same mistakes.”
The team’s second game of the day was against Centennial Christian School out of Terrace, the game had a similar tone to the first game, with the Rainmakers putting on another dominant display winning by a final score of 96-32.
“A lot less defensive mistakes in the second game for us… we are going to be a hard team to defend this year,” Bishop said.
The team next plays this Thursday at Collingwood and Bishop said he expects a steep challenge.
“This week we are going to get a good test when we face the number-seven ranked double-A team.”
Right after their game against Collingwood the team is heading south to Vancouver for the No Regrets Tournament.
READ MORE: Charles Hays Rainmakers ready for new season
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