By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Solomon boys basketball team will look to continue their improbable tournament run in the state semifinal on Friday as they prepare for the #3 team in Class 1ADI in South Gray.
This meeting with the Rebels comes on the heels of a shocking 45-43 come from behind upset of #2 Norwich in the opening round on Wednesday.
The Gorillas erased a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter and took the lead in the closing seconds against the Eagles, capping off a second come from behind victory over a ranked team in five days.
“This team never gives up,” Solomon head coach Kyler Stein said. “They believe in themselves and in each other and they’re not going to back down from any challenge no matter the score or situation.”
South Gray will present a new challenge to the Gorillas on Friday night, having lost just two games all season at the hands of top 1A opponents in Bucklin and Hodgeman County.
“They have a kid in Deges that can shoot it from anywhere at a high clip but he can be a very streaky shooter,” Stein said. “They also have a big in Penner who can do it all at 6-5 but we feel like we match up well with them and we think both teams have similar strengths which should make for a fun battle.”
For a third straight game, Solomons' opponent will be favored to win handily, but after back-to-back upset wins, the Gorilla's mentality has shifted, and the focus is no longer just on survival.
“They’ve really embraced their role as the underdogs but they also see themselves as the hunters and they’re ready for more,” Stein said.
Solomon has done all of this damage without one of their biggest senior scorers in Caden Acosta, who suffered a season-ending injury late in the year, but a number of Gorillas have picked up the slack down the stretch.
“Caden is a great player and we miss him tremendously but we’ve had a lot of guys step up in his absence,” he said. “Carlos Duran is a freshman who’s been big for us here recently, and Dylan Hynes was obviously huge for us last night playing through foul trouble and not missing a single shot.”
Solomon will need to mix it up defensively to keep the Rebels dynamic duo from doing what they’ve done to the 22 opponents they’ve beaten already this season.
“We’ve been good about giving teams a lot of different looks and we’ll have to do that again in this one,” Stein said. “Offensively they like to move the ball around a lot and really try to pound it inside and kick out to open shooters when they’ve got them.”
While this year’s Gorillas squad will go down in history as the first in school history to both make, and win a tournament game, Solomon is far from happy with calling it a day there.
“It was awesome to get a win and extend our season,” Stein said. “We really want to take this all in and make some memories with these guys and to show them what it’s like to compete at this level but we’re not content with where we’re at. We know we’re one game away from being in the big one and that’s where we want to be on Saturday.”
Tip-off between the Gorillas and Rebels is set for 6 pm on Friday in Dodge City with the winner moving on to the final to face Olpe or Macksville while the losers of those two contests meet in the third-place game at 4:00.
For continuing coverage of Solomon’s state tournament run, stay tuned to the Salina Post.