Toilers Sweep Cyclones Aside To Capture Senior Boys City Title
The Peacock Toilers senior boys team was ecstatic after winning the Moose Jaw city crown - MJ Independent photo
Story and Photos by Robert Thomas
It was a good night on the basketball court for the Central Cyclones senior boys basketball team.
The problem for the Cyclones was it was a great night for the Peacock Toilers.
At the end of a tough physical game the Toilers would overpower the Cyclones 102 - 72 to claim the city high school senior boys basketball championship.
Played in front of an over capacity crowd at Sask Polytech's gym the noise level was akin to standing beside a throttling up jet engine.
Action went up and down the court in what was a highly physical affair.
The Toilers held an edge in defensive rebounds breaking up court after aggressively pressuring the Cyclones step by step whenever they would break to score.
Peacock Collegiate by far had the most colourful fans - MJ Independent photo
For Peacock Toilers head coach Troy Setter the team put everything into the game.
“The boys came out and let’s say played their hearts out.” Setter said.
“Our team played their hearts out today. They played together. We worked on our game plan together. They executed it to perfection and that’s why we came out on top here.”
The Dunk - Peacock Toilers Mukungu Mutabazi makes the second of two slam dunks after being fed a long pass that got him behind Central Cyclones defenders. The two dunks drove the Toilers fans wild. - MJ Independent photo
Peacock Toilers during a timeout - MJ Independent photo
Asked if he expected the Toilers to win by 30 points Setter said he expected it to be a very close game.
“I expected it to be a one possession game,” he said.
The 30 point victory is not indicative of Central's abilities, he said.
“Central is a great team. They are going to go on to regionals. They are going to go on to win their region. I would be shocked if they don't bring home provincial gold.”
Asked about the Toilers’ health and any concerns - considering their last matchup against the Cyclones was rescheduled when the Toilers could not field a team - Setter said the Toilers were OK.
“We knew the guys were hurt and sick but they were getting better. We know when we have all of our bodies, when we were healthy we can play with some of the top teams.”
He said the team had confidence they could be competitive and beat the Cyclones.
“We knew we could play with Central. We knew we could do that from day one so we beat them the first game and they beat us the next two. We know they are a good team but so are we. We played well together tonight.”
Defensively the Toilers were strong.
“The guards played well. They controlled the ball and shot the ball well. They are our main stay all year round. They controlled the inside and made it hard when they tried to get in there,” he said.
Asked about the Toilers going from defense to break and press aggressively Setter said it was the game plan.
“We were coming out to win. We weren’t coming out to not lose. So that was our game plan,” he said.
Peacock, and Central, will host Regionals this weekend.
Peacock head coach Troy Setter glances up at the score clock in the third quarter - MJ Independent photo
Sam beckman tries to catch his breath in the third quarter sitting on the Central Cyclones bench - MJ Independent photo
Quarter Scores
The Toilers opened the scoring and lead from the initial tip off.
The Toilers lead the Cyclones in the First Quarter 35 - 24.
The Second Quarter saw the Toilers padding their lead by outscoring the Cyclones in the quarter.
The Half-Time Score was Toilers 59 and Cyclones 42.
Sam Beckman (left) watches Kai Houghton closely - MJ Independent photo
The end of the Third Quarter saw the Toilers leading the Cyclones by 22 points.
The Final Score was Peacock Toilers 102 and Central Cyclones 72.
Top Scorers For Peacock
Lance Geddes - 20 points
Makungu Mutabazi - 17 points
Nathan McDougall - 17 points
Mac Simpson - 17 points
Top Scorers For Central Collegiate
Mason Muchowski - 24 points
Earl Lamsen - 15 points
Tommy Vincent - 8 points
Caleb Newkirk - 8 points
The 2023 senior boys Moose Jaw city basketball champions the Peacock Toilers- MJ Independent photo
As an aside MJ Independent's final question to Setter was about a question we asked after the Central game prior to Christmas and he replied the team’s plan over the break was “to eat turkey.”
The comment drew lots of comments.
So we asked if the team had worked it off.
“I think so,” he replied.