By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
Despite falling to Hesston in the 3A semifinals on Friday, the Southeast of Saline boy’s basketball team ended their season with an exclamation point on Saturday, coming back to defeat Galena 54-51 and take third place at state for a second-straight season.
Galena came into this year’s state tournament undefeated and handled their business with Wellsville in the first round before falling to Marysville in the semis.
This afternoon, the Trojans discovered just how good the Bulldogs were, as Galena took a six-point lead into the fourth and final quarter, extending it to nine with a huge early three.
Down by three possessions and still exhausted from playing just 18 hours before, SES dug deep, and burned whatever energy they had left in the tank, rattling off a furious 11-0 run and closing on a 15-3 run to hand the Bulldogs their second loss of the season 53-51.
“We were down but we never lost sight of what we were trying to do,” SES head coach Bryson Flax said. “Sometimes it just takes some time to get there and I thought we did a great job of moving the ball offensively and we showed real toughness defensively.”
While many at the Hutchinson Sports Arena were in awe of the Trojan’s resilience, the Gypsum faithful were not among them, as fans of the purple and white have become accustomed to this kind of play over the years.
“I didn’t learn anything about our guys that I didn’t already know,” Flax said. “These guys are so good, they’re mature, they’re professional and they did a phenomenal job of preparing themselves. I think it helps that we’ve been here before and we have mixed emotions because we failed in our ultimate goal, but the things that this group has done over the course of two seasons is something special.”
This year’s Trojan team accomplished so much on their way to a second-consecutive third-place 3A finish, setting a new record for single-season program wins (24), appearing in a second-straight state tournament, and winning back-to-back NCAA league titles.
The only two teams to defeat Southeast will both play for a state title later tonight, with Hugoton battling in Class 4A, and Hesston looking to three-peat in Class 3A.
“Both of the teams we lost two had a really good shot to win a state title themselves,” Flax said. “I wish for the guys that we could be playing later but I’m proud as heck of the way they fought. We had barely any energy but our guys wanted to be here and it was great for us to get a win.
SES will say goodbye to eight seniors over the offseason, with each and every one leaving their mark on, and helping to build a program at Southeast of Saline that will extend far beyond their time in Gypsum.
All-in-all, over the last two seasons, the Trojans post a combined record of 46-6, two league titles, two state appearances, and two third-place finishes in Class 3A.
The Salina Post would like to thank all those who followed along all season long throughout our coverage of SES Trojan and Lady Trojan hoops.
For continuing coverage of Southeast of Saline athletics, stay tuned to the Salina Post.