By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Abilene boys basketball season came to an unfortunate end in the state quarterfinals at the hands of 16-6 Bishop Miege by a final score of 70-40 on Thursday.
The Cowboys battled late but were outmatched by the Stags, who outscored Abilene 42-22 in the paint and 18-6 on second-chance points.
“We came out and started well but they beat the dookie out of us on the boards,” Cowboy head coach Erik Graefe said. They got a ton of second and third chance points and you have to give credit to how big and physical they were, we just weren’t ready for that.”
While Abilene’s season comes to an end at 16-7, this does mark back-to-back trips to state for a team that will return a ton of talent next year.
“When you look at the season as a whole we had a lot of success and every time we took the floor we competed,” Graefe said. “They did everything we asked them to do and we learned from our mistakes. They were able to secure that sub-state title at home and this is another painful lesson to learn at the end but I was proud of how the guys played all year.”
Abilene will graduate three seniors this season in Kaleb Becker, Cooper Wildey, and Braden Adams, whose impact on this program will go far beyond their contributions on the floor this year.
“I asked our seniors at the end of last year to exert a certain kind of leadership and all three of those guys personified that leadership in their own way,” Erik Graefe said.
Coach Graefe had a lot to say about all three of the young men who helped to build Abilene to where it is now.
“Brayden saw his minutes decrease as the season went on but he never wavered and he was always a leader for us in practice and on the floor. You need a guy like him if you're going to build a culture that is going to be successful and I owe him everything.”
“We had some trouble early getting acclimated to one another but Cooper was a strong leader for us and he really stepped up to make that happen. He’s a 6-1 kid and we asked him to play the post a lot and he did it and he did it well for us. He was such a great player in the most difficult circumstances for us.”
“I don’t even know where to begin with Kaleb Becker. Ever since he was a freshman he’s been a leader for this team and to watch him grow over the years and to begin to rely on him not just during games but in the offseason as well was special. He was always the first guy in the gym and the last guy to leave. He’s the best leader we’ve ever had and it’s not even close.”
While Abilene will lose their trio of seniors, the Cowboys should still be loaded next season and will look to reload and run it back in 2022-23.
“We could conceivably return five guys who started at some point during the year and that’s encouraging,” he said. “The teams that do well in the postseason have experience and I’m pleased to have guys coming back who got their nose bloodied against some good teams.”
For coverage of both Abilene basketball teams next season stay tuned to the Salina Post.