As it turns out, things might be closer than anyone could have expected.
The Vikings took a 28-13 lead out of the first quarter and found themselves in striking distance of the Cyclones all night before falling 78-67 in the season opener at Vanier.
“It was just a slow start, we came off a good weekend [at the Bowlt Classic tournament] and we were kind of slow, the legs were a little bit tired, but we’ll work on it in practice and try and build on it some more,” said Central’s Dylan Boughen, who had 17 points in the contest. “We’re going to be playing a lot of high-rate tournaments so we’ll have to get used to it.”
After facing down Vanier’s red-hot start, the Cyclones were able to settle down defensively and held the Vikings to only seven points in the second quarter, taking a 38-35 lead into the half.
Boughen admitted it might have been a bit of overconfidence that shook things up until his squad was able to settle down.
“Maybe we have to cool down a little bit from coming in too confident and cocky,” Boughen said. “It’s coming in and working harder and putting everything into the game and putting everything that happened before behind us… It’s nice to have that provincial championship, but this is a new season, so we just have to focus on this season and keep going and keep improving.”
Vanier’s Aidan Longworth attempts to drive past Central’s Quinton Ross.The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair that saw Vanier stick within a couple of points much of the way through. Central would extend their lead to 63-57 before pulling away in the final quarter.
Quinton Ross also had 17 points for Central, while Mohamed Jabateh added 12 and Ewan Johnson 10.
Rayann Cabral led all scorers with a 21-point outing, Aidan Longworth scored 16 and Nathan Meili added 15.
