CCS 38, GRACE LUTHERAN 11

In the opener of the Mission Peak 2009 Invitational Tournament, the CCS Boys made quite a statement with a resounding 38-11 victory over an over-matched Grace Lutheran for their first win of the season. Early on, the Cougars set the tone with strong defensive pressure that resulted in numerous turnovers and lots of fast break buckets. After one period, they led 10-0, and increased the lead to 19-0 by halftime. Keeping up the pressure, the margin widened to 32-2 after three quarters. Chris Y. earned an opportunity to start with Brandon out, and made the most of his chance by leading the club with 12 points. Brennan also poured in 10, all in the second half, while Bharath had 7 points and a number of assists to the two leading scorers.

Next up for the Cougars is a league game with Valley Christian today, then a second tournament game tomorrow night with the host school Prince of Peace, who won their opener as well, 33-14. It should be a good battle that could determine who will be the tournament champs.

Here are the final scoring stats:
Chris Y. - 12
Brennan - 10
Bharath - 7
Chris T. - 5
Josh B. - 4

Great job Cougars!

MISSION PEAK TOURNAMENT 2009

It's tournament time for the CCS Cougars! Please keep the team in prayer as we embark on the most hectic portion of our schedule starting today. Here is a rundown of the tournament schedule. In our opener, we face Lutheran Grace of San Mateo!

TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL MISSION PEAK TOURNAMENT 2009

Wednesday (January 7)

Game 1: Christian Community vs Calvary Luth. (girls) 3:00 PM

Game 13: Christian Community vs Grace Luth. (boys) 4:15 PM

Game 2: Prince of Peace A vs Zion Luth., S.F. (girls) 5:30 PM
Game 14: Prince of Peace A vs Zion Luth., S.F. (boys) 6:45 PM

Thursday (January 8)

Game 3: Our Savior vs Bella Vista (girls) 3:00 PM

Game 15: Our Savior vs Bella Vista (boys) 4:15 PM

Game 21: (boys) 5:30 PM

Game 4: Redeemer vs Prince of Peace B (girls) 6:45 PM

Game 16: Redeemer vs Prince of Peace B (boys) 8:00 PM

Friday (January 9)

Game 9: (girls) 3:00 PM

Game 5: (girls) 4:15 PM

Game 17: (boys) 5:30 PM

Game 6: (girls) 6:45 PM

Game 18: (boys) 8:00 PM



Saturday (January 10)

Game 10: (girls) 9:00 AM

Game 22: (boys) 10:15 AM

Game 12: Seventh Place (girls) 11:30 AM

Game 24: Seventh Place (boys) 12:45 PM

Game 11: Consolation (girls) 2:00 PM

Game 23: Consolation (boys) 3:15 PM

Game 8: Third Place (girls) 4:30 PM

Game 20: Third Place (boys) 5:45 PM

Game 7: Championship (girls) 7:00 PM

Game 19: Championship (boys) 8:15 PM

SRVCA HOME PAGE LINK TO CCS GAME

Hope all the Cougar Families are enjoying the break. Here's an interesting site for the SRVCA team. I thought it was nice to see them mention about the CCS team having some good outside shooters. They also have a quarter by quarter breakdown, and after the first quarter, we basically played them evenly for the final three periods.

SRVCA 43, CCS 25

It wasn't the prettiest game of the year, but there were plenty of entertaining moments in CCS' 43-25 road loss to SRVCA. After a challenging first quarter that saw the Cougars fall behind 16-2, the team played well over the next three quarters. Bharath led the Cougars with nine points, including a dramatic buzzer beater three-pointer to end the game. He made the shot despite being fouled, which went uncalled! Chris T. added eight points and combined with Bharath to drain five threes. As usual, Michael was the key man inside with five points and approximately ten rebounds. Other highlights included Josh H. swiping three steals in less than two minutes of action and John with some tenacious D and blocked shots. With the loss, the Cougars fall to 0-3, but spirits remain high and confidence abounds with the knowledge that our next four league games will be on our home court.

Have a great Christmas and New Years Cougar families!

FINAL STATS:
Bharath - 9 Points
Chris T. - 8 Points
Michael - 5 Points
Maurice - 2 Points
Chris Y. - 1 Point

BASKETBALL TRAINING TIPS

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VALLEY CHRISTIAN 56, CCS 12

Reality hit hard last night as CCS ran into a buzz saw of a team in Valley Christian who dominated en route to a 56-12 victory in Dublin last night. Valley Christian was a very big team, and well coached, and took control from the opening tip. The win showed how far CCS still needs to go to become a competitive club. Despite the loss, there were some highlights that stood out including Brennan getting a nice blocked shot on a taller opponent, plus a nice dish to Michael for an assist. Also, John hustled to successfully save a ball and crashed into the wall in the process, while Josh B. did some nice work inside and knocked down a pretty jumper from the baseline. While the loss was an emphatic one, it certainly highlights some areas we can work to improve and continue to grow into a better team.

Here's a breakdown of this week's scoring:
Bharath - 6
Brennan - 2
Michael - 2
Josh B. - 2

REDWOOD CHRISTIAN 53, CCS 32

The Cougars' basketball season opened last night with a tough 53-32 loss to Redwood Christian. After a hard-fought first-half, the Cougars were able to pull within three points midway through the Third Period, before Redwood Christian used a late surge to widen the gap, and ultimately put the game out of reach. The Cougars were plagued by numerous foul calls in the first-half, which resulted in four different starters each having three by half-time. The result was a lot more bench time for them, than expected. Still, the game was a good first effort to build upon, and gave our bench a chance to get some needed game-experience. Bharath led all Cougars with nine points, all which came in a strong second-half effort, while Chris T. added seven. Other highlights included Chris Y. knocking down the team's first three-pointer of the season, and Michael's strong effort in the paint which yielded six points and, at least ten rebounds. I appreciated the boys' all-around effort, and, more importantly their great attitudes. While we made a lot of mistakes (Coach included), there are a lot of things that we can certainly improve for our next game. I look forward to a very competitive season.

Here's a breakdown of our scoring:
Bharath - 9
Chris T. - 7
Michael - 6
Brandon - 4
Chris Y. - 3
Maurice - 2
Brennan - 1