Cyclones post dominant win over Vikings, improve to 3-0
The Central Cyclones have shown their depth and balance since the beginning of the Moose Jaw high school boys basketball league season, and their most recent game against the Vanier Vikings was no exception. Not only did every player on their 12-man roster hit the scoresheet, six players broke double digits. The end result showed on the scoreboard in a 113-58 victory. It was the closest game 3-0 Central has had in league play this season.
But that’s not going to keep the team from doing everything possible to improve, especially given their lofty goal of eventually emerging as the best team in the province at the end of the season – school classifications be darned.
“We have a list of things we’re trying to work on and we’re working on those things regardless of who were playing,” said Cyclones coach Ryan Boughen. “We’re coming off a good weekend where we saw some things we needed to work on and that’s what we were trying to do tonight. Get into the gaps, stop the drive, close on their shooters... there’s still lots of things to work on for us to get to where we want to be.”
The aforementioned weekend saw Central post a 2-1 record at a tournament in Saskatoon that included an 83-80 loss to Saskatoon St. Joe’s, the second-ranked team in 5A basketball in the province. It was another close result that showed how close the Cyclones are to their goal. That’s why ‘work’ is the word of the day when it comes to their team, even in a commanding win. “I thought we could have done a better job moving the ball tonight,” Boughen said. “We’re working to get the best shot, not just a good shot but the best shot on the floor at any time. Our best shot is an uncontested three, so that’s another thing to work on. It’s always a work in progress.”
And then there’s the fact it’s only December... “Vanier will get better, Peacock will get better, so we’ll have to be ready for that and we’ll see where we all are at the end of the year,” Boughen said.
Jaxson Brownell led all scorers with 20 points while Hardil Khubber scored 16, Fharis Ebet 15, Kyle Boughen 14, Dylan Boughen 12 and Kael Nichols 10. Javen Panko led Vanier with 16 points while Riley Follensbee and Nathan Meili scored 11 each.
The Vikings were back in action later in the week in Assiniboia and had a much better result, taking a 99-54 win over the Rockets.
Follensbee scored 19 points for Vanier, Panko added 18. Jonathan Harden was Assiniboia’s top scorer with 24 points, Josh Nesvold scored 11.
In girls league action, the Cyclones took a 71-34 win over the Vanier Spirits. Scoring info was unavailable. Like the Vikings, the Spirits were able to rebound in Assiniboia, taking a 63-33 victory. Jenna Meili scored 20 points in the winning effort, Maura Belles had 10 for the Rockets.