The Cyclones had seven players score in double digits as they cruised to an easy 103-57 win on their home court in High School Senior Boys Basketball action.
“We ran the ball well, shot pretty well, our posts really worked hard and utilized their size and got inside well,” said Central post Aidan Saladana, who sealed the win with a dunk in the final minute for two of his 11 points.
The dominating effort for Central started right from the opening tip-off as they shot the lights out in the first quarter to build up a 27-15 advantage that Vanier was never able to recover from.
“All their shots were going down right off the beginning and give credit to them, they came out and executed on their plays,” said David Tardiff, Vanier head coach.
Central's hot hand continued throughout the night as they led 59-30 at halftime. They widened that lead to 83-41 by the end of the third quarter and closed it out with another solid quarter in the fourth.
“Bottom line, we just weren't executing anything on offence,” said Tardiff. “Defence we kept with them, it's just that when we weren't scoring any points and running a system, it's going to hurt us on defence because we have no momentum coming back.”
The key for both teams is in their posts as both teams have a lot of height and they were battling inside throughout the game.
“It's a grind,” said Saladana, who along with Dax Whitehead were going head-to-head with Zeb Smith and Austin Warren all night. “They don't have as much (height), but when they are on (the floor), it's tougher.”
Tardiff did like the fight his team showed in the posts and the way they battled for the ball and didn't allow Saladana and Whitehead to get easy shots.
“We just need our wings to move the ball more around the top, not just holding onto the ball, because it gives Central's defence a chance to reset and shut down our posts and not give them any opportunities.”
Despite executing well in all facets of the game, Saladana still sees room for improvement in their game as they look to push the 6-0 Peacock Toilers for top spot in the league.
“We need that consistency, playing at our highest level at all times, especially against teams like Peacock. When we're with them, we need to keep up with them,” he said.
Both teams will be off for the next week as the High School Basketball League takes a break for finals. Central returns to the court on February 4th in Caronport, while Vanier will host Peacock that night.
There were two girls games on Thursday night, click here for full details.
Thu, Apr 25, 12:00 AM
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