For the past four years, the Cedar Valley boys have played with the creed “Team Long Live Strong.”

That was when current senior Luke Long was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Six weeks later his father, Anthony, was told he had terminal kidney cancer.

Luke survived. His dad died at the age of 56 on Jan. 30, 2010.

In memory of Tony Long near the anniversary of his death and in honor of Luke on his last home game, Cedar Valley players and fans Saturday night once again donned the “Team Long Live Strong” t-shirts they had not worn in a couple of years.

Whether or not it provided extra inspiration, the Huskies played perhaps their most complete game of the year in a 64-49 romp over Waterloo Christian.

And it came the night after Cedar Valley (12-8) lost at Calamus Wheatland, 73-53.

“I thought we self-destructed Friday,” Huskies Coach Jeff Pospisil said.  “It was good to see us bounce back after a disappointed loss. That shows a lot of character.

“Tonight, we got a decisive win over a good team. We took care of the ball and controlled the game.”

While the Regents from Waterloo ( 7-13) stuck around early, the Huskies turned on the after-burners in the second quarter.

Ahead 25-19 midway through the period, Cedar Valley scored eight straight and then added four more after a Waterloo basket to take a 37-21 halftime lead.

In the surge, the Huskies got points from all five starters: seniors Long and David Sperling, and juniors Jeremy Strutz, Jon Landis and Spencer Zielke.

“We came out with fire in the belly, and guns a blazin’,” said Long.  “We really like to plan an up-tempo game if we can.”

Pospisil agreed, but said lack of team depth sometimes forces his squad to slow the action so as not to wear out.

“If we could, we’d play pressure defense and run all the time,” he siad.

Running out of gas was no problem Saturday night.

With a balanced attack, the Huskies kept pouring it on and led by 23 after sharpshooter Strutz hit a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter.  From there, it was mop-up time.

It ended with two alley-oop passes to junior Will Muhlbach for dunk attempts, but the popular big man had to settle for a meek lay-up.

Cedar Valley closes the regular season at Lisbon on Tuesday, then opens district play with a “home” game at Marion High against Alburnett on Thursday, Feb. 16.

Pospisil said to host a tournament game, the gym must hold at least 400 spectators. The Huskies can only accommodate about 300.

“But that’s alright,” Pospisil said. “Marion’s got a nice gym, and the folks out there are very nice.”

WATERLOO CHRISTIAN (49): Peter Bernstrom 1 0-0 2, Chris Doering 4 2-2 11, John Stone 1 0-0 2, Aaron Mazzarella 3 0-0 7, Lucas Segerstrom 4 0-0 12, Matt Gillen 0 0-0 0, Levi Smith 1 0-0 2, Ryan Wynthein 3 1-1 7, Tim Swanson 0 0-0 0, Sam Delagardelle 0 0-0 0, Danny Hall 1 2-2 4, Isaiah Armbrecht 0 2-2 2. Totals 18 7-7 49.

CEDAR VALLEY CHRISTIAN (64): Luke Long 2 0-0 4, David Sperling 5 2-3 12, Jeremy Strutz 5 0-0 13, Jon Landis 4 3-5 13, Spencer Zielke 2 1-3 6, Nick Henderson 1 1-2 3, Will Muhlbach 6 1-2 13, Evan Koch 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 8-15 64.

Halftime – Cedar Valley 37, Waterloo 21. 3-point goals – Waterloo 6 (Segerstrom 4, Doering, Mazzarella), Cedar Valley 6 (Strutz 3, Landis 2, Zielke). Total fouls – Waterloo 19, Cedar Valley 10. Fouled out – Stone, Segerstrom.