Toilers Senior Boys Take Round One Versus Cyclones
Photos and Story by Robert Thomas
The temperature was falling outside but Central Collegiate’s gym was the exact opposite as the hottest rivalry in the Moose Jaw city basketball league was boiling over.
And after the final buzzer and the smoke had cleared the Peacock Toilers senior boys basketball team had defeated the Central Cyclones 74 - 65.
It was a highly talented and well coached Toilers team that saw the Cyclones fall short Cyclones head coach Barry Seaborn said.
The game started out in a flurry and it was the matter of inches and missed rebounds which saw the Toilers take the First Quarter lead 22 - 17.
The Cyclones battled back in the Second Quarter eating into the Toilers lead. The score at Half Time was Toilers 36 and Cyclones 35.
The Toilers had a slight change in momentum in the Third Quarter in aggressive physical play and more than often control of the backboard.
Additionally the Cyclones missed passes in a couple of the set plays they had practiced on.
The score at the quarter’s end was Toilers 50 and Cyclones 46.
The Final Score was Toilers 74 and Cyclones 64.
Seaborn said the outcome of the game left a lot to be desired with the Cyclones in some areas needing work at practice.
Over the Christmas break he’s hoping in getting some practice in to work on deficiencies which came up on Tuesday evening.
The Cyclones had adopted a strategy to keep Toilers’ Makungu Mutabazi in check by assigning a player to stick close to him at all times - irregardless of what was happening on the court.
The strategy helped to keep Mutabazi in check but it also allowed the rest of the Toilers’ talent to make a major impact.
“There is more than one player on the team,” Toilers head coach Troy Setter said.
“Central did a great job on Makungu. We knew they were going to D him up really good but we had other guys out there making the plays they needed to make,” Setter said.
“They know what Makungu brings but we have other guys that are willing to step up this year and that’s what we need,” he said.
“We need a team to win we don’t need one player to win.”
Setter said the game lived up to its hype and the overflow crowd that came to the Central’s “Pack the Gym” night.
“It’s a typical Central and Peacock game. Both teams battled hard. It was right from the start both teams were giving her,” he said.
About the win Setter said “it definitely feels better going out on a win rather than a loss at the break.”
Setter said it was the Toilers defence that turned the game in their favour.
“Central is a high octane team. They can score a lot of points. They missed some shots they are going to make the next time we play…we know our work is cut out for us (the next time we meet).”
“We know the defensive effort we have put in has got to be better the next time we meet,” he said.
The Toilers are developing well and the coaching staff is happy Setter said.
“The boys have boughten into everything we taught them. They are working hard and that’s all we wanted. As long as they keep up that we’re happy,” he said.
