Burlington Central blows out Stillman Valley

Not every game is a barnburner.

There are usually a couple of easy wins on the schedule for perennial 20-win teams like Burlington Central in a regular season lasting 30-plus games.

It was clear two minutes into Wednesday's 73-40 nonconference home win over banged-up Stillman Valley the Rockets would not be challenged.

Burlington Central (21-8) used full-court pressure to force two quick turnovers against a team missing five top players due to injury, including leading scorer Jake Gaudreau since December 19.

The Rockets jumped to an 8-0 lead, fueled by 4 points apiece from sophomore Gavin Sarvis and senior Jake Lenschow. The romp was on.

Still, playing time matters within a program where underclassmen push upperclassmen for minutes. That the Rockets raced to leads of 25-9 after a quarter and 45-20 at halftime did little to dull the competitive edge of a hungry reserve like Steven Langtim.

The 5-foot-9 junior guard entered having made 2 of 8 attempts from 3-point range in 20 appearances. With a chance to play extended minutes, he doubled that 3-point total by sinking a pair of fourth-quarter shots from beyond the arc.

Langtim said practicing against a deep, talented roster keeps everyone sharp.

"It's the best competition I'm going to go against," he said of Central practices. "I feel like whenever we're on the court, our team is the better team."

All five starters scored for the Rockets. So did six bench players.

"In practice they do that to us all the time," said Sarvis, a starting guard. "When they do it to other teams, it's just as fun to watch."

Central coach Brett Porto said he appreciated the contributions up and down the roster.

"It's really important because everyone is working really hard," Porto said. "If they weren't working really hard, they wouldn't be with us. When you get a night like this and people are getting their numbers called, to work as hard as they did on the defensive end and see some buckets go through is big for everyone."

Sarvis led all scorers with 17 points. Senior Josh Hudgens added 11 points and 6 rebounds and Lenschow finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds.

Junior Kaden Viverito scored 16 points for Stillman Valley (11-19).