Cougars appreciate being home for annual Tip-off Tournament

TRURO - There's no place like home.
Any member of the Cobequid Cougars boys basketball team will tell you that. The Cougars get to play their first games at home today
and Saturday at their annual CEC Tip-off Tournament.
Central Kings, Dr. John Hugh Gillis and Bernice MacNaughton, of Moncton, will also be taking part. Cobequid opens at 4:30 p.m. against Central Kings while the Cougars junior varsity squad meets Bernice MacNaughton's junior varsity team at 6:30 p.m.
Getting a chance to play his first game at the high school is something rookie Nick Roberts is excited about.
"Oh yeah," the 16-year-old centre said. "I have been thinking about it. It will be cool to play in front of a lot of people because in junior high you can only fit like 20 people in the gym."
But that brings a whole new set of
challenges.
Although the Cougars will be getting plenty of support from their families and friends in the stands, knowing there are people you know in the stands can also make a player freeze up.
"Definitely," said senior point guard Andrew Myette. "It's always in the back of
your mind that people are watching you and you don't want to mess up and embarrass yourself."
But that will only throw you off your game if you let it, Myette said.
"You just have to focus on the game and not worry about those things," he said.
That's what he and fellow senior T.J. Jordan will be preaching to rookies like Roberts today.
"You can't worry about that because there's nothing you can do about it," Myette said. "You just have to worry about the things you can control on the floor."
That's why Myette said focusing on the task at hand will be key for Cobequid this weekend.
But Roberts added when a team is rolling, it can feed off the energy of its fans to keep momentum on its side. That's what the Cougars will be looking to do this weekend.
"We'll definitely be looking to feed off that," Roberts said. "We've been on the road and haven't had anyone cheering for us so to get that this weekend I think we'll feed off it for sure."

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