By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Abilene Cowboys and Chapman Fighting Irish will square off for one last regular season contest before the sub-state tournament next week.
Abilene got the better of their long-time rivals earlier this season in a resounding 81-24 victory on the road.
"Looking back at that game, we have to be able to beat their full-court pressure and not turn the ball over so much,” Chapman head coach Drew Gruver said."
While both teams have certainly improved since that first meeting, the two have gone in drastically different directions.
Abilene will come into this game at 13-6 and just outside the Class 4A rankings while the Irish enter still in search of their first win at 0-19.
“Our young guys have improved a lot throughout the season,” Gruver said. “We are better, but we still struggle against pressure sometimes. We have seen a lot of teams that press and we have done better in the last few games with handling that but we still have a few meltdowns during games that hurt us.”
While Chapman has grown as a team, Abilene has done the same, winning five of their last seven with two respectable losses to top-ten opponents.
“We are learning to be more poised in late-game situations,” Cowboy head coach Erik Graefe said. “This game is huge for a couple of reasons. We still haven’t secured home court for sub-state and Chapman is a rival.”
Abilene is currently in a tie for fourth in Class 4A’s West sub-state standings, jockeying for position with Andale and Concordia in the final week.
While the Cowboys have the larger team and more to lose, the Irish will give this final road game everything they’ve got, hoping all the pieces line up for one big upset win.
“We have to take care of the ball and not turn it over against their pressure defense,” Gruver said. “We will have to knock down open shots and make our layups and free throws as well. Defensively we have to get stops, box out, rebound and not let them get a second and third chance at scoring.”
Tip-off between the Cowboys and Irish is set for 7 pm following the girl’s game at 6.
For continuing coverage of both programs at sub-state next week, stay tuned to the Salina Post.