The Howe Sound Sounders senior boys basketball team is sitting pretty as it enters the New Year.

The Sounders closed out their 2012 calendar with a 51-45 win over Windsor Secondary School on Dec. 20 to improve to two wins and zero losses early into Tier AA regular season action.

Head coach Ron Roberts said the game was a back-and-forth affair, with Howe Sound going on an 11-0 run late in the game to pick up the win.

“I credit our defence down the stretch and our solid rebounding for the win,” he said. “The one downer for us was we committed 16 turnovers and if Windsor had not shot so poorly, the result would have been in question.”

Roberts pointed out that Windsor won the AA championship last year and said the win has to be considered a big one. Avi Arellano led the way for Howe Sound with 27 points, 12 steals and five rebounds, while Tarn Brar picked up a team-high 10 rebounds.

According to Roberts, one of the factors in the team’s strong showing against Windsor was a fun and competitive alumni game on Dec. 19. Several players from the past four years took part in a mock game during lunchtime at the Howe Sound gym. Roberts said it was a good tuneup for the game against Windsor.

“I credit that scrimmage for getting my guys focused for the upcoming game,” he said. “It’s nice when the people who came up through the system give back.”

The Sounders will next be in action on Jan. 9, when they take on Pemberton Secondary in an exhibition game. The junior boys will hit the court at 3:30 p.m., with the senior boys getting underway at 5 p.m.

The Howe Sound senior girls team will host its first home game of the season on Jan. 10, when Chatelech Secondary from the Sunshine Coast comes to town with a 6 p.m. tipoff. Both the junior girls and boys teams will then travel up the highway for the annual Pemberton tournament on Jan. 11 and 12, with the senior boys heading to Elphinstone Secondary for that school’s tournament.

For more information on the teams, visit www.howesoundsecondary.bc.ca.