By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Solomon boys basketball team battled their hearts out one last time but came up just short of another big comeback, falling 66-54 at the hands of Macksville to take 4th at this year’s state tournament.
A historic Gorillas season comes to an end at 17-9 while the Mustangs claim third place at 23-3.
Macksville came flying out of the gates and played tenaciously on both sides of the floor to build a 26-8 lead over Solomon by the end of the first quarter.
“We came out flat and just didn’t bring the defensive intensity that we needed,” Gorillas head coach Kyler Stein said. “They ran the floor on us and we didn’t want to get back and play defense.”
While it would have been easy for Solomon to give up after falling in a hole for the fourth straight game, the Gorillas got off the mat and hit back, outscoring Macksville 13-5 in the second and 17-15 in the third.
“I’m very proud of them,” Stein said. “They never gave up and we got the lead down to 4 but just ran out of gas. This group is never out of a game and they played hard for every minute of the last three quarters.”
Solomon was led by a 19-point effort from Makaen Hastings who was joined in double digits by senior Dylan Hynes and sophomore Spencer Coup.
While the final two games may have been disappointing for the Gorillas, this team accomplished things that no team in the history of Solomon has ever done before.
The Gorillas made their first state tournament, collected their first state win, defeated two top-10 opponents in comebacks over #10 Clifton-Clyde and #2 Norwich, and posted a program-best fourth-place finish in Dodge City.
“I’m not sure if it’s really settled in for all of us exactly what we’ve just done,” he said. “It’s been awesome and it’s been a great ride but this is something we hope to be able to do a lot more often.”
Solomon will say goodbye to a great class of seniors this offseason, headlined by Caden Acosta, Dylan Hynes, Simon Smith, Jarrett Baxa, and Dawson Duryea.
“These seniors will be greatly missed,” Stein said. “I told them all I wish I had them for four years. They are a talented and fun group and they will leave significant holes to fill. We will need guys to develop and step up to fill those gaps.”
For continuing coverage of Solomon Gorillas athletics, stay tuned to the Salina Post.