By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Solomon basketball teams closed out the 2023 portion of their respective seasons at home on Friday, as they played host to the Elyria Eagles.
Each side battled in both games, but ultimately the Eagles got the better of the hosts, completing the sweep with a pair of wins.
Girls Game: Elyria 32, Solomon 19
Both offenses started slow on the girl's side, with a lone free throw representing the only scoring midway through the first quarter.
Elyria got a few big buckets in transition to take a 7-2 lead into the break, and a 19-5 lead into the half.
While the Lady Gorillas looked dead in the water at the intermission, something in the locker room sparked Solomon, and Maya Newcomer took over on the glass, collecting four straight rebounds and dropping in two putbacks as part of an 8-0 Solomon run that cut the deficit to two scores.
Unfortunately for Solomon, Elyria got their offense back on track and the shots didn’t fall down the stretch as the Lady Eagles secured the 32-19 win.
Newcomer led the way for the Lady Gorillas with seven points while Julia Allen led all scorers with ten for the Lady Eagles.
With this result, Solomon falls to 1-4 while Elyria improves to 2-4.
Girls Game: Elyria 55, Solomon 49
Early on, the boy’s game lived up to its bill as a true defensive duel, with neither side giving an inch and a 4-4 score four minutes in.
From there, Elyria went on two big runs, taking a 15-6 lead into the second quarter, and a 24-15 lead into the half, thanks in no small part to three-straight trays from Alex Robertson.
With their backs to the wall, Solomon responded and began a run of their own near the end of the third quarter, punctuated by an NBA-range three at the buzzer for Spencer Coup.
Coup continued his assault on the rim in the fourth quarter, and Carlos Duran got in on the fun from deep as the Gorillas cut the lead to one, but the Eagles got hot from beyond the arc themselves and were able to pull away in a 55-49 victory.
While Solomon fell in this game it was still a commendable effort from Spencer Coup and Carlos Duran, who dropped 25 and 11 respectively in a back-and-forth battle.
Elyria was led in scoring by Ty Romero (19), Alex Robertson (17), James Schott (9), and Andrew Huxman (9), who each buried at least one shot from beyond the arc.
With this result, Solomon falls to 2-3 while Elyria improves to 4-2.