By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
With their midseason tournament in the books the Southeast of Saline basketball teams returned to the hardwood in style on Tuesday, sweeping Republic County on their home floor.
The SES girls cruised through their matchup 54-25 while the Trojans did more of the same in a 68-50 win.
Girls: Republic County 25, SE of Saline 54
The Lady Trojans dominated with defense once again, holding the Lady Buffs to just 5 points in the first quarter and just 11 at half.
Southeast managed to do all of this with very little in the way of fouls, sending Republic County to the free throw line just six times all game.
SES also handled the ball exceptionally well, committing just two turnovers in the whole first half.
Offensively, this game was a true team effort, with nine different Lady Trojans contributing at least a bucket in the win.
Aba Pearson led the charge with 15 points, backed up by an 11-point night from Reese Heinrich and 8 points from Kyiah Samuelson.
Avery Stindt was the leading Lady Buff in scoring with 10 points, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Lady Trojans cruised to victory.
With this result, SES is now 10-3 overall and 5-0 in league play while Republic County falls to 3-10.
Boys: Republic County 50, SE of Saline 68
This game was over shortly after it began, as the Trojans poured on the points in an explosive second quarter.
Things stayed close early, as Southeast held just a 16-11 lead after one, but the Trojans outscored the Buffaloes 25-9 in the second quarter to hold a 41-20 lead at halftime.
Southeast wouldn’t extend that lead much in the second half, but the damage was done, and the purple and white rolled to another big win at home.
Two Trojans posted season highs in the victory, led by Owen Bailey (24) and Isaiah Kejr (13).
Gannon Jacobson also had a good night, totaling 12 points in the win, with that trio representing just three of Southeast’s eight scorers on the evening.
Aden Morris did all he could for Republic County, scoring 19 of the Buffaloes' 50 points in the loss.
With this result, the Trojans move to 6-7 on the year and 3-2 in league play, inching ever close to that .500 mark, while Republic County drops to 1-12 on the season.
Both SES teams will be back in action on Thursday when they host the Lions and Lady Lions of Minneapolis.