Cyclones Senior Boys Claim City League Championship
Emotions ran high both on and off the court as the classic high school rivalry played out on Tuesday evening.
The favoured Central Cyclones senior boys basketball team faced everything the Peacock Toilers could throw at them hoping for an upset.
The game was at times reminiscent of a street fight. Players fighting for the ball both in the air and on the floor. An over exuberant fan ejected. Followed by lengthy periods of finesse.
It was a game that packed the gym with hundreds of screaming fans.
But when all was said and done the Cyclones defeated the Toilers 83 - 40.
Peacock Toilers’ Nate Measner (left) goes for a tumble after battling Central Cyclones’ Gavin Harkness for the ball - MJ Independent photo
“No this isn’t what we wanted,” Peacock Toilers head coach Troy Setter said about the loss.
Despite the Toilers losing Setter said he was proud of the team’s efforts in the game.
“We played for every inch of the court. Our shots didn’t fall. It would have made a big difference. But our shots weren’t falling tonight and that’s just part of basketball,” Setter said.
He took the loss as just part of the game.
“That’s the beauty of sports you never know what’s going to happen,” he said.
The Toilers have been in a rebuild year after a lot of talent graduated last season - there are plenty of rookies on the roster.
“We’re very proud of the team. There were a lot of changes in the team. We had a couple of guys come and go on the team. We built, we built up. Our seniors took on leadership in the last month here and helped our younger kids along,” he said.
“We’re proud of how our seniors have led. We’re proud of how our younger kids have stepped up as well.”
A big part of Toilers progression was the surprise 94 - 58 upset victory over the Swift Current Colts in the semi-final.
Many basketball watchers weren’t giving the Toilers a chance expecting a lopsided loss.
“The people who wrote us off don’t know our players. They don’t know how hard they work. And how dedicated they are at practice and how dedicated they are getting to where they want to be,” Setter said when asked about the naysayers.
Asked about the Toilers’ future and predictions in a year or two they will be a powerhouse he wouldn’t make a prediction.
“There’s a lot of good young teams out there. You need to get better every time you’re on the court and we’ve done that so far this year.“
it needs to be noted Coach Setter speaks about the game at hand and does not make predictions deep into the future.
The Toilers are now set to make their bid to get into 5A Hoopla provincial finals.
This weekend they play Yorkton on Friday in Swift Current.
“Our road to Hoopla is a rough one but the boys are playing hard and we are going to try our best.”
Asked about comments made earlier in the season where it all came down to peaking at the right time he said “we’ve played our last four or five games and we played really well. So hopefully we can get back on track on Friday.”
Setter congratulated Central.
“Congrats to Central. They played a hell of a game.”
“It was a great, great game. Great atmosphere and lots of energy. Both teams played really hard and that’s exactly what I expected,” Cris Temple head coach of the Central Cyclones said.
Despite the score the Toilers came out strong something he expected.
“They came out strong. Just like I expected. They don’t play it any other way. They always come out and play hard,” Temple said, adding “it’s a big rivalry in our town and it’s great to see.”
Asked to describe the game - whether it was a street fight or one full finesse - he said it was a mix.
“I wouldn’t say it was a street fight. There was some really nice basketball out there. I thinking our guys did a great job of controlling the pace once we had the ball. We brought it up the floor and we were able to get into our offence. Sometimes there was scrambling and stuff but…I think overall we were able to control the game.”
Asked about the road to the city league final and the team’s improvement he said the Cyclones had improved quite a bit.
“This season so far we be playing with injuries quite a bit this season. We’ve had a great season. We’ve been able to play in a lot of good competition this year as well which is really what you want. And you just keep moving forward and getting better.”
Although the Cyclones are the defending 4A provincial champions Temple said the team is approaching the Hoopla run seriously.
“You never know. Anything can happen. It’s one game at a time,” he said.
Temple said he would like to thank the people who came out and packed the venue.
Grade 12 student Nate Measner is one of the seniors that took a leadership role for the Toilers this season.
Measner played a strong physical game for the Toilers.
“We have a young team so it was really nice building it up and finally making it to the final,” Measner said.
Asked what it meant to make the city league final in his final year of high school basketball he said it meant a lot.
“It means a lot. I wished it had a better outcome but it was still nice to be here.”
Measner said stepping up into a leadership role was what the grade 12 students had done to help him last year.
“So I led the team and we started getting better from there,” he said.
Both teams are now on their journey to hopefully win the provincial high school basketball championship at Hoopla.
Peacock Toilers assistant coach Raman Mall thanks the players - MJ Independent photo
The Scoresheet