By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Southeast of Saline and Sacred Heart basketball teams will close out the 2023 calendar year with a finale in Gypsum tonight, with both fanbases preparing for what should be a fun pair of battles.
The Trojans and Lady Trojans come into this contest fresh off a split with Hillsboro while the Knights and Lady Knights have had nine days to rest up following the Fighting Irish Classic.
Girls Game: SE of Saline (3-2) vs. Sacred Heart (3-2)
SES ran into a buzzsaw on Friday, fighting hard but lacking the firepower to match fourth-ranked Hillsboro in a 44-30 final.
Despite dropping back to 3-2, the Lady Trojans are primed to get right back to work, looking to take down a big rival on Tuesday night.
“Offensively we have to be more consistent,” SES head coach Shauna Smith said. “You’re going to have nights like Friday night but we have to shoot the ball better and be better finishing at the rim.”
While Southeast has won the last six meetings between these two, taking both games in each of the last three years, Sacred Heart has gotten off to a strong start themselves, punctuated by a win over 6th-ranked Berean Academy in the Irish Classic.
"They've owned the series in recent years but it's going to be a dogfight," Sacred Heart head coach Carl Hines said. "They might be smaller and less experienced than us, but they're going to play tough, and they'll be ready for us."
Tip-off between the Lady Trojans and Lady Knights is scheduled for 6:00 pm on the campus of Southeast of Saline High School.
Boys Game: SE of Saline (2-3) vs. Sacred Heart (5-0)
After finishing each of the last two seasons around .500, the Sacred Heart boy’s basketball team is eager to restore their program back to its former glory and is off to an impeccable start with an unblemished record in 2023.
One thing that undoubtedly resides on the Knight’s checklist, is wrestling control of their rivalry series back away from Southeast of Saline, who has won each of the last four contests over the last two seasons.
The Trojans got a bounce-back win over Hillsboro on Friday night but will need to take another step forward tonight to contend with their biggest rival, and to maintain a foothold on their position in the NCAA.
“We’ll have to be good against ball screens and our defense has to be far better than it’s been,” SES head coach Bryson Flax said. “We watched the film from the other night and there were a lot of correctable things that we saw. We have to be good on the glass and when they give us opportunities we’ll have to be efficient offensively.”
Southeast will also have to be wary of a loaded Sacred Heart roster, that returned all of its varsity minutes from a season ago and looks to be getting the most out of that experience.
“It all starts for them with Michael Matteucci,” Flax said. “He’s so crafty and able to get downhill and create for his teammates. They play really hard, they play really good defense and it’s a typical well-coached, hard-nosed Brian Gormley basketball team.”
Broadcast Information
- Location: SE of Saline High School
- SES Radio: KINA (910 AM/107.5 FM)
- SES Live Stream Video: Link Below
- Sacred Heart Live Stream Video: Link Below
- Pregame: 5:30 PM