By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Southeast of Saline girls’ basketball team continued to roll, winning a third-straight game on Friday night, while the boys came up just short in a tight game with Clay Center.
Girls: SE of Saline 54, Clay Center 43
The Lady Trojans jumped on Clay Center early, doubling up the Lady Tigers to take a 16-8 lead into the second quarter.
That lead continued to build, as SES held a ten-point advantage at halftime, an eleven-point lead after three, and eventually closed out a win of the same margin.
Three different Lady Trojans finished the game in double figures, led by Taryn Goetz, who posted a new career high of 17 points, Kyiah Samuelson, who added 12 more, and Abigail Pearson, who scored a season-high 11 in the win.
On the other side of the matchup, Lily Edwards led all scorers in a heroic 20-point effort, and Miley McGee added 12 more, but it wasn’t enough as the rest of the team combined for just nine points.
This win takes Southeast to 8-3 overall while Clay Center falls to 2-7.
Boys: Clay Center 53, SE of Saline 50
The boys’ game felt eerily similar to the matchup against Lyons, with Southeast taking a sizable early lead, up 21-16 at the end of the first quarter.
That lead wouldn’t last long, however, as Clay Center came storming back, outscoring SES 17-9 in the second quarter to hold a 33-30 lead at half.
Southeast kept things close all the way to the finish line, but the Tigers held on for a narrow but well-deserved 53-50 victory.
Tiernan Ptacek led all scorers with 17 points despite the loss.
A trio of Tigers closed out the game in double figures, led by Rylan Gurney (16), Abram Stratton (15), and Grady Theuer (10).
This loss drops Southeast to 3-8 while Clay Center improves to 6-3.
You can watch both games on demand below.