Corner Brook -
It's beginning to look like it may be a special season for Steers Insurance.
The perennial Corner Brook Men's Basketball League contender underwent a major roster overhaul in the off-season and, so far, the moves made appear to be genius, particularly the addition of the Michael and Mark Tavenor.
With a 96-70 victory over Jasper Kitchen and Bath on Monday night at the old Regina High School stadium, the insurance squad improved their record to 8-0.
"The young guys we picked up make things a bit different," said Steers veteran T.J. Power. "It's a bit easier when you get down to the fourth quarter and they've still got their legs left and the other teams don't.
"The first half of this game started off pretty close and we had a lot of turnovers," he added. "But in the second half I think our young guys wore them down running the ball. (We) were shooting well too ... the Tavenor boys were playing well together again."
Jasper and Kitchen Bath entered the game a little dinged up and, according to Power, the absence of Mike House really took its toll on the kitchen crew.
"They played hard, but that's a big difference," he said. "That's 20 points, a few rebounds and better defence. Without Mike House they were a bit of an easier team to play, but they still played hard. We really picked up our defence in the third quarter to hang onto our lead."
Power doesn't put a whole lot of stock in regular season records, so he wasn't about to do any unnecessary bragging about the undefeated record so far.
"The playoffs will be different," he said. "Once the playoffs come, anything can happen."
The 26-point defeat was a humbling experience for the kitchen crew, regardless of who was or wasn't in their lineup.
"We played a good first quarter and it was all downhill from there," said Bob Cook. "That two-week layoff (due to a sewage problem at the old high school) really hurt us and injuries are hurting us. We were forced to play a zone defence tonight, which we wouldn't usually play."
Cook claims it was anybody's game in the early stages, but the window of opportunity in which to end the insurance squad's unbeaten run quickly closed.
"They didn't shoot well in the first quarter," he said. "After that they turned it on and pretty much controlled the rest of the game.
"We played much better against them the last time we played them actually," he added. "We'll be better when we get healthy and get our big bodies back. It's just a matter of controlling their tempo and taking good shots."
The other scheduled game on Monday night between the West Side Monarchs and Kohler was postponed.
