By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Southeast of Saline basketball teams split a set with Minneapolis on Friday night, with the Lady Trojans getting back on track ahead of the final week of the regular season.
Girls: SE of Saline 57, Minneapolis 28
Minneapolis was able to hang around for a quarter of this game, trailing by just six at the end of the first, but from there, Southeast slammed the gas, taking a 15-point lead into the locker room and never looking back.
Six different Lady Trojans knocked down a field goal in a third-quarter explosion that saw the team score 17 points while allowing just five.
The fourth saw more of the same and at the final buzzer, Southeast led 57-28.
A trio of Lady Trojans closed out the night in double figures, led by Reese Heinrich (14), Kyiah Samuelson (12), and Regan Duran (10).
Minneapolis struggled in the absence of Baylee Randall-Hurt, with Riley Robinson leading the charge with just 7 points, and the team finishing the night with nearly as many turnovers (24) as points (28).
With this result, Southeast improves to 14-5 while Minneapolis falls to 8-10.
Boys: Minneapolis 68, SE of Saline 61
On the boys’ side, Owen Just and Kenyon Derronet carried the load for a Minneapolis team that was able to avenge an earlier loss to the Trojans.
In a near mirror image of the girls' game, Southeast kept things close for a quarter, trailing by seven at the end of the first, but in the niddle quarters, the Lions pulled away, scoring 35 points to take a 54-41 lead into the final frame.
The Trojans battled back with 20 of their own in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough as Minneapolis held on for the 68-61 win.
Owen Just finished the night with 22 points, nearly paced by Kenyon Derronet (14).
Four different Trojans scored in double digits, with solid nights from Adam Thiel (17), Tiernan Ptacek (14), Isaiah Kejr (11), and Gannon Jacobson (2), but the rest of the team chipped in just nine points, split between two players.
With this result, Minneapolis improves to 6-12 while Southeast slides to 5-14.
You can watch both games on demand below.