At first glance, the Christian Life boys basketball team is an unassuming bunch.

That initial impression is thrown out the window soon after the opening tip-off.

“You definitely can’t tell just by looking at us, but the heart really shows on the floor,” tireless CLS senior Nick Svehla said. “We really get after it on defense. We just love to scrap and that’s where we get our points.”

CLS held a double-digit lead for the entire second half and coasted to an impressive 73-63 non-conference victory over visiting Burlington Catholic Central on Tuesday night.

It was the first-ever victory for the Eagles over the Hilltoppers, who entered the game ranked No. 8 in Division-4 in the latest WisSports.net state coaches poll.

Playing like the game had a 10-second shot clock, the Eagles controlled the tempo from the start and forced 28 turnovers overall.

Svehla finished with 16 points, seven assists and seven steals to lead CLS (3-1).

“We don’t really have a superstar, but our go-to guy is Nick Svehla,” CLS coach Steve Powell said. “He can really jump and he goes to the basket well.”

Charles Crawford (16), Jared Ventura (14), Trenton Robertson (12) and Dan Rozema (10) also scored in double figures. Dave O’Laughlin and Crawford teamed up for 15 rebounds.

Sam Wagner had 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for BCC (2-1).

Leading 17-12 after a fast-paced opening quarter, CLS led by 10 points three different times in the second quarter before Rozema drained a 3-pointer with four seconds left in the half to give the Eagles a 37-24 lead.

The Eagles poured it on in the second half, leading by as many as 17 points on four occasions.

“We call it a two-pass offense,” Powell said. “We like to really move it and that opens up some things for us. We have a lot of speed and that’s what we try to emphasize.”