By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
As we approach the final month of the regular season the Southeast of Saline and Sacred Heart boys’ basketball teams will return to the hardwood for a rematch on Tuesday, as the Knights travel to Gypsum in search of revenge.
Sacred Heart will come into this contest at 8-5 overall while the 2nd-ranked Trojans enter at 12-1.
In the first meeting between the two, Southeast was able to find success defensively, at times stifling a Knights team still looking to patch their senior losses from the previous offseason.
“I thought we did a pretty good job of making them uncomfortable offensively in that first game,” SES head coach Bryson Flax said. “We didn’t allow their shooters to get clean looks and we sped them up when they did take open shots.”
While the Trojans took home a 65-41 victory that night, Sacred Heart didn't look all that uncomfortable against the Southeast press, and will look to build on that in the coming rematch.
“In that first matchup, we handled their pressure pretty well,” Knights head coach Brian Gormley said. “They got us from time to time and they’re going to get us from time to time because that’s what they do. We’ll have to live with a few mistakes but we also have to capitalize when there are opportunities to attack their pressure.”
Much like it was a season ago, the Trojans are expecting a much tougher battle with their biggest league rival the second time around, against a Knights squad that has settled in and established its new identity.
“Early on they were trying to figure out how to make up the things that Alex Disberger was able to do in terms of defense and rebounding," Flax said. "As a group, they’re getting better every night at rebounding at a higher level. We’re expecting to see a lot of growth from them in this game.”
That growth hasn’t been lost on Sacred Heart either, and while the Knights will come into this game with a disadvantage in the paint, they know that they are more than capable of stealing a game in Gypsum and evening the season series if they can handle their business on the glass.
“We haven’t gotten much taller and they bring a lot of size and athleticism to the game but I hope our guys can attack the boards a little tougher than we did last time,” Gormley said. “Overall our numbers weren’t bad but they flipped the tables on us with some second-chance opportunities so we have to make a concerted effort to make those tougher.”
On the SES side of things, the Trojans will need to find ways to slow, but not overcommit to guarding Michael Matteucci, who has become a real thorn in the sides of opponents all season long.
“Matteucci makes them go and he’s been shooting the ball efficiently without turning the ball over and playing really good defense,” Flax said. “They space it out and if you help off Erlich has been shooting the ball well, Bogart has been shooting the ball well and if you put too much emphasis on Matteucci those guys will hurt you.”
Tip-off between the Trojans and Knights is set for 7:30 at Southeast of Saline High School following the girl's game at 6:00. Both games can be heard on KINA or streamed with live audio and video on the Salina Post.