If Saturday is any indication, the 2016 portion of the 2015-16 basketball season could be a fun one for the Chamois boys basketball team.
The Pirates employed some stifling defense in the Capital City Shootout, holding the Prairie Home Panthers to just 23 points in the 30 minutes the regulars played, and cruised to a 42-32 win at Fleming Fieldhouse in Jefferson City.
Every day brings the Pirates closer to the shutdown defense head coach Kyle Burkett wants to employ.
"They've started buying in since (Thursday's 47-37 loss to) New Bloomfield," Chamois head coach Kyle Burkett said. "We did a pretty good job defensively against them. ... We're more disciplined on the defensive end. Everybody's starting to understand that if we take our time, be patient and buckle down, it frustrates teams, especially teams that want to go fast. It doesn't allow them to get into a rhythm, and I think we've done a good job of that."
When the subs came off the bench with two minutes left, the Pirates had a comfortable 41-23 lead and had done well in pestering the Panthers on every trip down the floor.
"We're definitely doing a better job of keeping our guys in front of us," Burkett said. "It's not perfect yet, but it's definitely getting better. It's something we've worked on."
The Pirates never trailed in the contest, thanks in large part to forcing three turnovers on the Panthers' first four possessions. On the offensive end, meanwhile, two huge 3-pointers by Devin Flake helped Chamois start the game on a 7-0 run.
"That was a great start," Burkett said. "He's pretty consistent with (his 3-point shooting). We're starting to get used to him being able to knock them down."
The Pirates didn't get much else in the way of offense in that quarter, but still led 9-4 heading to the second period.
In the second, Chamois got eight points from Aaron Brandt, who returned from some time on the bench after two quick fouls in the first quarter. Brandt ended up with game highs in both points (16) and rebounds (11) and was named the Most Valuable Player.
"He's been a work in progress, and he's getting better and better every game," Burkett said. "Obviously he's our most talented offensive player, but now he's also getting to the point where he's not forcing things as much. He's letting it come more naturally, he's working with the other guys to get open, and he's allowing them to get open.
"Getting him in the post more has helped a lot. He's one of the guys who would rather play on the perimeter, but you've got to do what you've got to do to put the ball in the hole."
Chamois outscored Prairie Home 8-5 in the third quarter to lead 30-16.
Ross Kendrick paced Prairie Home with 15 points and Creed Flood had 10.