By Mark Bryson, Record staff
WATERLOO — The Waterloo Vikings tried their best to get back into the game and Stefan Crvkalj slammed the door shut.
The Bluevale Knights point guard scored 15 of his game-high 38 points in the third quarter on Tuesday as the Knights pounded the Vikings 65-34. Both teams entered the game with identical 4-0 won-lost records and sat atop the Waterloo County senior boys basketball league standings.
Cvrkalj was a monster for the Knights, especially in the third quarter when he found his shooting range. He just wasn’t missing and almost singlehandedly snuffed any hopes of a Vikings’ rally. The Vikings turned in their best quarter of the game in the third, but actually saw their deficit grow by three points because of Cvrkalj, who outscored the Vikings 15-14 all by himself. The Knights led 27-14 at halftime and 44-28 after three.
“It just starts to feel like the net is three inches wider in diameter,” said Cvrkalj of finding his groove. “I knew every single time I shot the ball whether it was going to go in or not.
“It’s just confidence and it feels really good. When it’s like that, I just want the ball in my hands.”
The Knights were surprisingly sharp in their first game back since the two-week holiday layoff. They staged four practices during the break, but coach Doros Theodosiou admits he had no idea what to expect when his charges returned to the floor.
Turns out he had no reason for concern.
“I still think there are two, three or four teams in the hunt but our guys are playing as well together now as they ever have. For the first game after the break, I’m extremely happy,” said Theodosiou.
As for his star attraction, the coach’s straight face turned into a smile.
“When Stefan shoots the ball that way, it’s pretty tough to stop him,” he said.
WCI coach Craig Nickel echoed those comments.
“I thought CJ (Cvrkalj) had an outstanding game and the whole team played really well,” said Nickel, who marveled at the Grade 12 player’s performance in the third.
“We were better at three and maybe four of the positions (in that quarter) but they were decisively better at the one position. He’s a special player.”
The Knights also received strong outings from their big men, with Perin Smith and Andrew Beney both crashing the glass hard.
Jasper Wesson was WCI’s top performer, throwing his body all over the floor while collecting 10 hard-earned points. Scott Coghlin was tough on the glass and added 10, while guard Alex Copp poured in 10. Starting guard Josh Forler didn’t dress for the Vikings because of a finger injury.
It wouldn’t have mattered as the Knights were too much in this one.
“We’ve been working really hard and that hard work is paying off,” said Cvrkalj. “We wanted to show (WCI) that we’ve worked hard to be in first place and I think we showed them that today.”
The Jacob Hespeler Hawks are up next for the Knights, while the Vikings take on the Galt Ghosts.
The Bluevale Knights point guard scored 15 of his game-high 38 points in the third quarter on Tuesday as the Knights pounded the Vikings 65-34. Both teams entered the game with identical 4-0 won-lost records and sat atop the Waterloo County senior boys basketball league standings.
Cvrkalj was a monster for the Knights, especially in the third quarter when he found his shooting range. He just wasn’t missing and almost singlehandedly snuffed any hopes of a Vikings’ rally. The Vikings turned in their best quarter of the game in the third, but actually saw their deficit grow by three points because of Cvrkalj, who outscored the Vikings 15-14 all by himself. The Knights led 27-14 at halftime and 44-28 after three.
“It just starts to feel like the net is three inches wider in diameter,” said Cvrkalj of finding his groove. “I knew every single time I shot the ball whether it was going to go in or not.
“It’s just confidence and it feels really good. When it’s like that, I just want the ball in my hands.”
The Knights were surprisingly sharp in their first game back since the two-week holiday layoff. They staged four practices during the break, but coach Doros Theodosiou admits he had no idea what to expect when his charges returned to the floor.
Turns out he had no reason for concern.
“I still think there are two, three or four teams in the hunt but our guys are playing as well together now as they ever have. For the first game after the break, I’m extremely happy,” said Theodosiou.
As for his star attraction, the coach’s straight face turned into a smile.
“When Stefan shoots the ball that way, it’s pretty tough to stop him,” he said.
WCI coach Craig Nickel echoed those comments.
“I thought CJ (Cvrkalj) had an outstanding game and the whole team played really well,” said Nickel, who marveled at the Grade 12 player’s performance in the third.
“We were better at three and maybe four of the positions (in that quarter) but they were decisively better at the one position. He’s a special player.”
The Knights also received strong outings from their big men, with Perin Smith and Andrew Beney both crashing the glass hard.
Jasper Wesson was WCI’s top performer, throwing his body all over the floor while collecting 10 hard-earned points. Scott Coghlin was tough on the glass and added 10, while guard Alex Copp poured in 10. Starting guard Josh Forler didn’t dress for the Vikings because of a finger injury.
It wouldn’t have mattered as the Knights were too much in this one.
“We’ve been working really hard and that hard work is paying off,” said Cvrkalj. “We wanted to show (WCI) that we’ve worked hard to be in first place and I think we showed them that today.”
The Jacob Hespeler Hawks are up next for the Knights, while the Vikings take on the Galt Ghosts.
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