By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Southeast of Saline boys basketball team picked up their first win of the season with a big 64-51 win over the Smoky Valley Vikings.
With the victory the Trojans even their record at 1-1 while Smoky Valley falls to 0-2.
Southeast was led by a monster 31-point performance from Eli Sawyers who cashed in on 14 field goals in the win.
“Eli was really good for us this evening,” SES head coach Bryson Flax said. “We were giving him his normal touches and he was making great decisions and shooting it with efficiency.”
SES played pesky defense again tonight, forcing the Vikings into 13 turnovers and turning that defense into offense throughout the contest.
“I thought we did a good job of pushing in transition which led to some easy buckets for us,” Flax said. “Defensively our initial effort was really good but we struggled to keep them from getting extra opportunities. We have to finish possessions.”
Sawyers was joined in double digits by Luke Gebhardt who scored ten after a bit of a timid start at Hesston.
The Vikings were led by Vincent Pickering with 11 points as SES mitigated the damage from the SV big-three.
Out of the halftime break, the Trojans poured it on, taking a 20-point lead into the fourth quarter and never looking back.
Southeast will be back in action on Friday night when they host Beloit in their home and league opener.
“We’re excited to be back at home,” Flax said. “We’re hoping for a good crowd and a great atmosphere and we’ve got a really good group this year.”