McKinnon jersey retired
It was a great night for basketball and a fitting tribute to a former Cowichan Thunderbird great Friday night at Cowichan Secondary School.
The T-Birds improved to 5-0 in North Island senior boys’ league play with a 79-54 victory over Vanier.
Jerod Dorby and Ben Ingham led the scoring with 15 points apiece, with eight and 10 rebounds, respectively.
Andrew Larson contributed 14 points and eight rebounds while Cyrus Gray got into the act with 14 points, eight rebounds and seven steals
As good as the victory was, it wasn’t the best part of the night.
A ceremony to retire Jason McKinnon’s No. 33 jersey was conducted during halftime. McKinnon died in January of 2012.
His parents and brothers were thrilled with the honour bestowed upon the family.
A ball drop was also held and the winner of a $2,500 prize was Julie Schlienz, the mother of T-Birds’ manager Foster Schlienz.
A total of $7,000 was raised for the Jason McKinnon Scholarship Fund. Money will be awarded to some of the graduating T-Birds at the end of the season.
The T-Birds also won 85-73 at Dover Bay last Tuesday.
Dorby collected 24 points and 13 rebounds while Larson tallied 20 points and eight assists. Gray also had a superb game with 19 points.
The T-Birds are hosting the North Island playoffs Friday and Saturday.
Season ends for T-Bird girls
The Cowichan T-Bird senior girls lost a challenge game to Spectrum 53-35 Monday night at Frances Kelsey to get into the island tournament.
“The kids gave it all they had and never quit,’’ noted Jim Nugent, co-coach of the team with Michelle Keserich.
Cowichan finished fourth in the North Island tournament. It started well with a 47-41 win over Campbell River, as Katie Porter and Sarah St. Cyr both played strong games.
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