By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
Tonight, the Southeast of Saline Trojans and Abilene Cowboys will have it out on the hardwood in an all-top-five area showdown.
SES enters this contest at 3-0 after spending the week ranked #1 in Class 3A while Abilene comes in at 2-1 fresh off their first loss at the hands of Augusta.
For the Trojans, a roster that consistently goes nine deep with little to no drop-off has been the key to their early season success on the heels of a year where Southeast didn’t graduate a single senior.
“Our depth has been really important for us,” SES head coach Bryson Flax said. "That has allowed guys to stay fresh for late-game situations. In every game that we’ve played, I thought we were the better second-half team and that comes down to us having a little more juice.”
Opposite SES stands an Abilene team that held the #4 spot in Class 4A last week and is still working out its identity with a roster equally loaded with talent.
“It’s still a work in progress,” Cowboy head coach Erik Graefe said. “We’re still figuring out how to play, and who to play through in difficult situations. Our team plays as hard as they possibly can, and I am proud of them for that.”
Despite holding a win over the two-time defending state champs and former #1, Southeast has afforded a ton of respect to this Abilene squad and is preparing for a real battle on Tuesday night.
“Having that game against Hesston under our belt is good but Abilene is a different animal,” Flax said. “They look like a well-oiled machine on film, they’re shooting it well, they’re defending hard, they bring a lot of pressure and they’re probably the best thing we’ve seen this year.”
That respect is a two-way street, as the Cowboys have identified the Trojan’s game in the paint as one of the biggest obstacles to their potential success.
“Sawyers and Morrical-Palmer are absolute studs,” Graefe said. “They play hard and are so unselfish. We need to defend and rebound better than we have all year, to give ourselves a shot.”
Conversely, for the Trojans to remain undefeated and hold onto the top spot in Class 3A, SES will need to shut down the three-point line and hit the boards hard in a matchup that has become known for its physical nature.
“We have to stay locked in on the perimeter,” Flax said. “Everyone that takes the floor for them can shoot it but some of them can shoot better than others, we have to take away easy opportunities and we can’t give them a lot of second chances.”
Tip-off between the Trojans and Cowboys is set for 7:30 pm following the girl's game at 6:00.
As always, the game can be heard on KINA (910 AM or 107.5 FM) or streamed with live audio and video on the Salina Post.