Heading into this season, many thought it could be a transition year for Allentown Central Catholic.

The Vikings, coming off their fourth straight District 11 title and a spot in the PIAA quarterfinals, lost most of the key members from that 29-1 squad, including four-time all-state selection Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman.Despite the roster turnover, Central Catholic head coach Dennis Csensits still thought his team would be able to compete if his newcomers developed as he had hoped.After Friday night's Eastern Pennsylvania Conference opener against Pleasant Valley, it looks as though these Vikings might not be all that different from those of years past.Central Catholic controlled the game early and pulled away for 64-45 victory over Pleasant Valley.Despite the glut of new faces on the Vikings' roster, first-year Bears' coach Matt Gould knew he would still be going up against a quality team."They're a solid basketball team," he said. "They're young inside, but their guards are solid; they can handle the ball and they can make jump shots."Central Catholic's (2-1, 1-0) backcourt of Ben Pratt (16 points) and Zay Jennings (22 points) combined to hit four of the Vikings' seven three-pointers and always seemed to be able to come up with a big shot when the team needed it.That kind of clutch ability is something Csensits likes about the development of his two talented guards at this point of the season."Both of those guys are very good basketball players," the coach said of Pratt and Jennings. "They played a (different) role last year, but now they're kind of key guys and I think they've really embraced it. I think they'll continue to grow into it as the year goes on."I like our group and I really like our direction."After trailing 35-20 at halftime, Pleasant Valley (0-3, 0-3) mounted a charge in the third quarter, outscoring the Vikings 16-12 in the frame.The momentum seemed to carry over into the fourth quarter when the Bears trimmed their deficit to 10 points at 47-37 after Ron Moore, who finished with seven points, hit one of his two free throws.But once again, Central Catholic had an answer.This time it was Jennings, who drove to the basket, hitting a layup and drawing the foul for a three-point play to seemingly seize control and put the game out of reach for Pleasant Valley."We gave up some open threes and they did what they do, and that's make shots," said Gould. "We just couldn't counter and get stops or come down offensively and put the ball in the hoop."The sharp shooting of Eric Mikulski, who scored 10 of his team-high 16 points over the final two quarters, sparked Pleasant Valley's second half run.The only other Bear in double-figures was Eric Marbury, who recorded 13 points.Despite some periods of strong play, Gould noted the team still has some kinks to work out."It's difficult, because the guys are still trying to learn their roles," said Gould. "It's more of a read-and-react offense so the guys are still working on some aspects of that."Struggles aside, Gould likes the direction his team is headed in."You can't look at the loss column because they are getting better," he said. "In the opener against Nazareth were in the game early; then (in the second game) against Northampton we were in it at halftime; and here we fought back in the third quarter."So we are progressing. It can be difficult, but we just try to tell the kids to focus on the bigger picture and the results will come."ACCJ. Vaughan 2-0-0-6, Ocasio 0-0-2-0, Maley 4-0-0-9, C. Vaughan 0-0-0-0, Nosovitch 3-0-0-6, Pratt 5-4-5-16, Dezonie 2-1-2-5, Jennings 5-10-12-22, Guensch 0-0-2-0, Friel 0-0-0-0, Stewart 0-0-0-0, Susko 0-0-0-0, Kern 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 21-15-23-64.PLEASANT VALLEYNevarez 1-1-2-4, Marbury 6-1-3-13, Moore 3-1-2-7, Shaffner 0-0-0-0, Mikulski 6-0-1-16, Krcic 1-0-0-2, Barker 0-0-0-0, Smaltz 1-0-0-3, Munford 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-3-8-45.ACC 19 16 12 17 - 64Pleasant Vy. 12 8 16 9 - 45Three-pointers: ACC - J. Vaughan 2, Maley 1, Pratt 2, Jennings 2; PV - Nevarez 1, Mikulski 4, Smaltz 1.