By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Solomon boy's basketball team will open postseason play on Friday when they return home to host Goessel at 7:00.
The Gorillas will come into this contest as the four-seed at 11-9 having won five of their last six to close out the year while the Bluebirds enter as the five-seed at 9-10.
These two squared off back in early January in what would go down as a 51-44 victory for Solomon in Goessel's home gym.
To knock off the Bluebirds for a second time and advance to the sub-state semis, the Gorillas will need to continue playing with the confidence that allowed them to rip off five straight wins down the stretch, even in the absence of their previous go-to star.
"I expect a very good game," Solomon head coach Kyler Stein said. "This is a battle of two evenly matched teams. We have to do the little things extremely well, rebound, limit turnovers, and execute offensively. Goessel is extremely well-coached and has played good basketball lately."
Unlike the first meeting between these two, the Gorillas will have this game in front of a ruckus home crowd, eager to see their team replicate the magic that allowed them to make a run at state a season ago.
"We hope to have an advantage over them with our crowd making a lot of noise the whole night," Stein said. "Our guys are eager to go earn themselves another game and see what kind of run we can make late and that starts tomorrow night."
The winner of this game will advance to the bracket semifinals to take on Elyria Christian (17-3), who earned the first-round bye in this year's tournament.
On the other side of the bracket, the winner of Canton-Galva (14-6) and Rural-Vista (7-12) will move on to face the victor between Sylvan-Lucas (13-6) and Lincoln (8-11).
Tip-off between the Gorillas and Bluebirds is set for 7:00 at Solomon High School.
For continuing coverage of Gorillas basketball throughout the sub-state tournament, stay tuned to the Salina Post and follow us on Twitter @spostsports.