When the Central Cyclones won the 4A boys provincial basketball championship last season, they did so in an utterly commanding fashion that left little doubt as to who the top team in the province is.
So far, it’s been much of the same on the road to Hoopla 2024.
Central rolled to a 123-42 win over Notre Dame in their semifinal Friday before earning a berth in the championship tournament in Moose Jaw with a 110-48 win over Martensville on Saturday, continuing what has been a stellar campaign.
“You still have to play the games and you just never know,” said Cyclones head coach Barry Seaborn. “We haven’t seen some of these teams, and we’ve practiced twice in two weeks, so is there going to be a good flow, can we shoot the basketball, and that’s always in the back of your head.
“But we came out and played hard and did a good job on defence, and we shot the ball well, so that was good. They were focussed today, they know what’s at stake, you still have to win to get to the game.”
As the scores from both games would indicate, Central didn’t leave a whole lot to chance. A quick early lead, substantial edge at the half and steady, continuous solid play led to the Cyclones running away with both games, as is often the case with a top seed in regionals.
Mason Muchowski had an outstanding game in the final against Martensville, putting down 33 points to lead all scorers, while Chase Seaborn scored 22 and Gerritt Gulutzan picked up 11.
Beyond winning, the goal was let the rest of the 4A Hoopla draw know that Central was on their game and would be a formidable out when things get real next weekend.
“On Friday we talked about sending a message to 4A, because there are four really good teams that are left and none of the games that are left are going to be easy,” Seaborn said. “I think both us and Peacock will have a really tough semifinal, but hopefully we end up playing each other in the final.”
Central will face Regina Luther in their Hoopla semifinal, a team that they defeated by only eight points at a tournament earlier this season.
The schedule for Hoopla 2024 will be released early this week, be sure to keep an eye on www.shsaa.ca for updated info.
