By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
On the first day of the regular season, the Southeast of Saline and Hesston boys’ basketball teams squared off in Gypsum, with the winner poised to inherit the #1 ranking in Class 3A.
The Trojans would come away with a 56-46 victory on that early December evening, and the Swathers wouldn’t forget it as they ripped off 23 straight wins en route to an appearance in the state semifinals.
The Trojans never fall behind, winning 22 of their next 23, and holding course in the top three of the KBCA rankings, faltering only to a Hugoton team still playing as the 1-seed in the 4A bracket.
These two teams now find themselves on a collision course at the Sports Arena in Hutchinson, and only one will claim a spot in the 3A state championship game on Saturday.
The Trojans advanced through last night’s quarterfinal round with a 64-47 win over Perry-Lecompton, closing out the game on a 57-30 run over the final three quarters after falling behind 17-7.
“I was really proud of how we stayed even-keeled and weathered the storm,” SES head coach Bryson Flax said. “I think that’s a testament to just how mature our group is. I could have burned a few timeouts but I chose to let them figure it out and they did just that.”
In the finale of Wednesday’s action in Hutch, Hesston polished off Colby 59-46 to punch their ticket to the second round, looking every bit as dominant as they have all season.
“Hesston hasn’t changed a bunch,” Flax said. “They’re still going to get out and guard you hard, they still rebound really well on both ends, and as the year has gone on they’ve figured out who their guys are after losing some kids from last year’s team.”
Both of these squads will come into this contest with a wealth of state experience, as the Swathers are still the defending 3A champs, and the Trojans are fresh off a third-place finish in Hutch last year.
“Our guys have really handled the things around the state tournament well and I’m glad that our guys have that experience but Hesston has a lot of guys that have played in a lot of big games too,” he said. “You can throw records and history out of it, tonight it’s just going to be two really good basketball teams going at it.”
Much of the Swather’s success has been predicated on the play of Jake Proctor and Adrian Hernandez, who have created nightmare matchups for opponents all throughout this 23-game win streak.
“Everything runs through Proctor,” Flax said. “He’s one of the premier point guards in the state and he can slice you and dice you from a lot of different angles, [Hernandez] has come on as of late and has been a lot more aggressive on the inside and the outside. They’re tough to match up with and we have to be good off the dribble.”
After collecting a program-best 23rd win on Wednesday, the Trojans have an opportunity to make history again just 24 hours later as no team in Southeast of Saline boy’s basketball history has ever played for a state title.
While SES is aware of this looming milestone, the team remains laser-focused on Hesston, and conversations about these kinds of things haven’t entered the Trojan locker room.
“Truthfully we haven’t talked about it,” he said. “We want to take things game by game. I’m sure the guys are aware of it but we want to take things day by day and we’ve got a fight on our hands tonight.
Tip-off between the Trojans and Swathers is set for 8:00 at the Sports Arena in Hutchinson, following the 6:00 game that will see the 1-seed in Galena (24-0) go toe to toe with the 4-seed in Marysville (22-2).
As always, the game can be heard on KINA (910 AM or 107.5 FM) courtesy of Bennington State Bank and Eagle Radio.