By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Southeast of Saline boys basketball team has punched their ticket to state for the first time since 2017 following a dominant 71-48 win over Council Grove in the sub-state championship.
The Trojans have now won 13 straight dating back to the Sterling Invitational, and have looked more and more dangerous with each game down the stretch.
Most impressively, the team that has accomplished all of that has done so without the aid of a single senior on the roster.
Southeast’s defense was immaculate tonight, forcing 17 turnovers and wearing down a Council Grove team that while talented, struggled with depth late in the season.
“We wore them out, there’s no doubt about it,” SES head coach Bryson Flax said. “In the first half we were giving them a little too much space on ball screens but we cleaned that up pretty quick.”
In addition to scoring 12 points, Luke Gebhardt played a critical role defensively, holding Braves superstar Kellen Marshall to just one made shot in the second and third quarters.
“Luke was incredible defensively on Marshall,” Flax said. "Once we settled in on that side we were really good and I’m really proud of the way that our guys played.”
The Council Grove offense thrived on methodical ball movement and capitalizing on mistakes in the previous two rounds, but the Trojans tightened the screws and kept Braves shooters off balance for 32 minutes.
“There are a lot of really good shooters in high school basketball when their feet are set and they’re comfortable but when you have to work for shots the confidence level drops,” he said. “We did a really good job of making them work for everything they got.”
Offensively SES was led by a 24 point night from Eli Sawyers, but it was in the hustle plays off the stat sheet where the Trojans shined the brightest.
“It was a point of emphasis for us that any time the ball was on the glass or on the floor we needed to be the first ones there and I thought we did a really good job of being tough in those aspects,” he said.
Council Grove will finish their 2021-22 campaign a respectable 14-9 while the Trojans take the rest of the weekend to rest up before heading to the state tournament in Hutch later this week.
While none of these players have competed for a state title before, Southeast is likely to see some familiar faces in Hutchinson from the gauntlet that kicked off their season.
“The sports arena is an unbelievable atmosphere but what I think is best for our kids to remember is that we’re not there because we’re 20-0,” Flax said. “We played a lot of really tough teams and they’re all going to be in Hutch next week, there’s not a lot that we haven’t seen and I like that we have that experience.”
For coverage of the Southeast of Saline boys basketball team at the state tournament next week, stay tuned to the Salina Post!