By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Solomon boys basketball team will look to continue their Cinderella run on Wednesday with the toughest task of their season as the Gorillas get set to take on #2 Norwich in the state quarterfinal.
The Gorillas punched their first-ever ticket to the state tournament thanks to a miraculous 7-0 run in the final 20 seconds of their sub-state championship game at Clifton-Clyde, and will enter state as the 7-seed at 16-7.
“It’s exciting for us and it’s a well-deserved accomplishment for these guys,” Solomon head coach Kyler Stein said. “They’ve put in so much time at the gym getting better in the offseason and before and after games. You can feel the buzz around town and around the community and we’re hoping we can win a few more in Dodge City.”
This first-round matchup will be another big test for the Gorillas against a Norwich team that in addition to losing just one game all season, has outscored their opponents by more than 500 points.
“They muddy up the game and they play defense like their hair is on fire,” Stein said. “They take a lot of chances and they’re going to give up a lot of transition layups but they’re going to get a lot of those as well. They also have two strong, athletic bigs inside that we’ll have to contend with.”
One of those bigs comes in the form of senior Chance Higler, who has given opponents fits not only with his ability to play through the post, but with his ability to distribute and take deep jumpers.
The Eagles have built their brand on forcing teams into turnovers and cashing in on the other end, but they won’t be the first team to try that against a Solomon squad that has handled the ball with confidence this season.
“Clifton-Clyde had the same idea but we have some really good guards against pressure and that hasn’t bothered us most of the year,” he said. “Makaen Hastings is playing his best basketball and he’s very good with the ball, with a point guard like him we’re confident against pressure.”
While handling the press will be critical in this game, the Gorillas will also need to be stout defensively against a Norwich team averaging nearly 60 points per game.
“We want to play a similar style to what they do to settle in with some easy buckets in transition,” Stein said. “We’ve taken pride in our defense here recently and we’ll need that to be solid again in this one.”
While the Eagles come into this game as heavy favorites, if there’s one group in the state of Kansas who isn’t counting out Solomon it’s the guys who will take the floor on Wednesday night.
“This team absolutely believes that they could win it all,” Stein said. “Just hearing them talk they’re very confident in their abilities and they absolutely should be. If we’re playing our best basketball we know we can play with anyone and I’m excited to see what this week has in store for us.”
Tip-off between the Gorillas and Eagles is set for 6 pm in Dodge City with the winner advancing to play 3-seeded South Gray (21-2) or 7-seeded Ness City (18-5) on Friday at 6:00.
For continuing coverage of the Gorillas state tournament run stay tuned to the Salina Post.