By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
In 2017, the Southeast of Saline boys basketball team was sent to the third-place game by Osage City.
Five years later the Trojans got their revenge in a 62-53 victory over the Indians that was much closer on paper than it was on the court.
“I thought we were pretty dang good for stretches,” SES head coach Bryson Flax said. “We came in with a good game plan and had to adjust a little bit. The Boss kid is a good player and they were doing some nice things to get him the basketball in some good spots but once we settled in I think our depth prevailed and we were able to wear them down.”
The Indians kept things close early on but fell behind in the second quarter, trailing the Trojans 62-53 at the intermission.
Osage City cut the SES lead to six points late in the third quarter but Southeast found another gear and slammed the gas, finishing the third on a blistering 14-1 run and never looking back.
“That run was big for us and we weren’t changing things but they got a little sloppy and we took advantage of it,” Flax said. “When these guys get out on the run they’re the best and they were really efficient in transition tonight.”
The Trojans were led in scoring by Eli Sawyers, who posted 22 points in Southeast’s 14th consecutive victory.
Sawyers was joined in double digits by the usual suspects in Luke Gebhardt and Nakari Morrical-Palmer who tacked on 13 and 12 respectively.
While the SES frontcourt drew the Indian's attention, good movement away from the ball set the Trojans up for open looks from deep which Southeast buried, shooting 41% from three-point land in the contest.
“I thought we passed the ball really well,” he said. “We had 18 assists and we knew that as soon as Eli or Nakari touched the ball in the paint they were going to have a lot of bodies on them so we wanted to emphasize moving without the basketball and staying shot ready on the perimeter.”
Landon Boss led the way in the loss for Osage City with 19 points as the Indians season comes to an end at 20-3.
The Trojans will now turn their attention to the top-seeded team in the tournament as they prepare for a Royal Valley team that defeated Girard 60-56 earlier on Wednesday.
For continuing coverage of the SES boys and girls, basketball teams throughout the state tournament stay tuned to the Salina Post.