By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Southeast of Saline boys basketball team stumbled out of the gate to a 1-4 record, but have since caught fire, winning six of their last seven en route to a 7-5 record at the midway point of the season.
While SES has been working on building a solid resume, every game down the stretch will be a big one as the Trojans scrap for a good seed in a very competitive sub-state bracket.
“Every game definitely feels more crucial down the stretch,” SES head coach Bryson Flax said. “Our sub-state is very difficult and every game matters for matchups. We’re in the middle of the pack right now and we have to continue to climb game by game.”
Scoring depth has been a strength for the Trojans this year, as the teams top four leading scorers are separated by just three point per game on average, and can all lead the team on any given night.
The quartet of Eli Sawyers, Jaxson Gebhardt, Nakari Morrical-Palmer and Camden Spano-Lund have been just as locked in defensively as they have been when putting points on the board this year, something that has taken opponent after opponent out of their comfort zone.
“I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve seen on the practice floor lately,” Flax said. “We look extremely bought in defensively, we’re competing a little more and the guys are really feeding off of that.”
While the starting five have put up great numbers for Southeast this season, the bench has struggled at times to keep up, with six other players this year combining to add just 12 points a night.
“Our bench production has been better as of late but it still needs to improve,” he said. “We can’t see drop offs in our defensive intensity and we can’t have long stretches where we’re not scoring when we go to the bench. I’ve got confidence that our guys can do it but they have to play a little more loose.”
The Trojans have also looked much better closing out games, something the team struggled with during the early losing streak.
We’ve done a good job of it lately but as we progress further into the season I look for us to be a little more calm late in games,” he said. I’d like to see us be a little more crisp and to show more of the maturity I’ve seen from them lately.”
The remaining road for the Trojans will not be an easy one, featuring rematches against 6-3 Sacred Heart, 10-3 Minneapolis and 6-3 Ellsworth, and a meeting with 10-3 Ellinwood ahead of sub-state.
While these games will be tough, they will also serve as a test for Southeast, and an opportunity for the Trojans to continue to improve and prepare for the sub-state tournament.
“I like the progress that we’ve made but if we stop making progress I could see us winning a game at sub-state and having to fight for our lives from that point on,” Flax said. “If we can continue to stay locked in defensively and continue to share the ball well I like our chances to make a run in our sub-state.”
The Trojans will be back in action on Tuesday when they look to avenge a loss from earlier this season against the 6-3 Sacred Heart Knights.