By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Abilene Cowboys will look to punch their ticket to state on Friday when they host the Concordia Panthers in the sub-state championship game at 7pm.
Abilene comes into this contest with an overall record of 11-5 and fresh off a 28-20 win over Chapman while Concordia enters at 10-10 after a 79-63 victory over Clay Center.
Chapman tried to hold the ball and give Abilene as few opportunities as possible with the score just 4-0 at the end of the first quarter. The Cowboys battled through it and pulled away late in an odd but definitive victory.
“I think they thought that holding the ball and trying to force us into bad shots was their best chance,” Abilene head coach Erik Graefe said. “But our guys did a great job of staying disciplined and closing it out, I’m really proud of them.”
With a short, four-team bracket, the Cowboys now find themselves just one win away from the state tournament, with only Concordia standing in their way.
“The biggest thing with Concordia that jumps out is their size,” Graefe said. “It’s tough to get easy looks against them with how often they change up their defense and they’re very well coached.”
Concordia has fallen to Abilene twice already this year by final scores of 59-57 and 49-33, but the addition of Chas Carlgren has made the Panthers a bit more dynamic down the stretch.
“His presence is huge for them and he adds a lot of confidence to the rest of their team,” he said. “They aren’t the same team that we beat earlier this season.”
Tip off between Abilene and Concordia is scheduled for 7pm and will be played at Abilene High School in front of a reasonably sized crowd that Coach Graefe hopes will have an impact.
“There was a time when we were 6-0 on the road and 2-3 at home,” he said. “But that’s changed for us and I want to give credit to some people in our student body who did some work to allow our students to be at games spaced out and masked up. I honestly think it’s changed the dynamic and made a difference for us.”
As this is the sub-state final no future matchups will be determined until the eight teams selected for the state tournament have punched their tickets. Abilene can become the first to do so with a win on Friday.
Stay tuned to the Salina Post for continuing coverage of Abilene Cowboys basketball throughout the sub-state tournament.