By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The 2020-2021 Central Mustangs boys basketball team has had a very up and down season to say the least. While the team’s talent has been on full display, wins have been hard to come by as Central is just 4-8 heading into the final month of the regular season.
To say that the Mustangs schedule so far has been brutal might not do it justice. Central has faced top-10 teams in 5A five times already, and has hung with some of the best teams in the state, but is still looking for their first signature win.
Earlier this season, Central fell to 11th-ranked Ark City by seven points, and 7th-ranked Andover by just six points. They took their cross-town rival, second-ranked Salina South to overtime but came up just five points short, and just one night ago dropped a one-point game to the top team in 5A in the 13-0 Hays Indians.
“We’ve been up and down early on, we need to find some more consistency,” Central head coach Ryan Modin said. “We’ve faced really good competition and when you play a tough schedule like we have you have to play really well every night.”
The schedule won’t get much easier for the Mustangs from here on out either, as the team still has rematches against Salina South and Ark City, a third meeting with Andover, and a matchup with 13-2 Valley Center before sub-state.
Despite the adversity, coach Modin has seen great things from his Mustang squad, and his confidence in their ability to win has not been shaken.
“We work extremely hard,” he said. “The guys do everything they’re asked and play hard every night, and I think they’re going to see the wins come because of that.”
So far this season Central has been led by a pair of seniors in Reed McHenry and Caden Kickhaefer, who have both led the team in scoring and stepped up as leaders on the floor.
While the defense has been there for the Mustangs all season, keeping up with higher caliber offenses has been a challenge.
“We have to score more,” Modin said. “I know that’s easy to say but it’s so important for us. We also need to cut way down on our turnovers. Defensively we’re good and we’re shooting well from the line but we have to do a better job of scoring.”
With a few key wins down the stretch, Central could still right the ship in time to make a deep playoff run, but they will continue to be tested every step of the way.
“Our ceiling is as high as they want to make it,” he said. “They can beat anybody and they can compete with anybody but it’ll be a grind.”
The Mustangs will be back in action next Tuesday in what could be their most important game of the season when they look to avenge an overtime loss to second ranked Salina South from earlier this season.