By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
With just one Mayor’s Cup matchup on this year’s calendar, the Salina South and Central boy’s basketball teams will meet on the campus of Kansas Wesleyan tonight, for the chance to take home a year’s worth of bragging rights, as well as some much-needed early-season momentum.
Both teams will come into this contest at 0-2, with the Mustangs falling to Maize and Hutch while the Cougars were defeated by Eisenhower and St. Xavier.
Despite the early-season growing pains for two teams still sorting out their identities with new-look rosters, there is a lot to be optimistic about for both South and Central as the December portion of the season reaches its midway mark.
“We’re growing up a lot game by game and we’re finding out who we are and what our strengths and weaknesses are,” Cougar head coach Jason Hooper said. “We want to be a team that’s tough and part of that is fighting through adversity. I feel like we’ve done that through two games.”
Hopes are high on the Central side as well as the next generation of Mustang basketball players get their moment in the spotlight.
“Overall the thing that I’m liking is that these guys are really coachable,” Mustang head coach Ryan Modin said. “They play hard and they’re trying to do everything we’re asking as we go through some growing pains. The guys have been committed to coming in and getting better and that will pay off in the long run.”
These cross-town rivals played almost identical games to begin their seasons with Central dropping their opener by just two before falling to Hutch by 33, and South taking Eisenhower to overtime before suffering a 28-point blowout.
For the Mustangs, the biggest improvements will come in comfort and variety on the offensive side of the floor, as players settle into their new roles.
“We have to find different ways to score,” Modin said. “We need some different guys to step up and there’s no other way to say it we just have to make some shots. A two-game sample is hard to use to make a huge determination but we need to establish more consistency on the offensive end.”
For the Cougars, steadying their play will be the name of the game as Salina South undertakes a similar quest to find their identity early in the year.
“Consistency is the biggest thing we need to improve,” Hooper said. “Against Junction City, we had stretches where we really didn’t play well and then stretches where we fought our way back but we need to be more consistent on both sides of the floor and I think that will come as we continue to find out who we are.”
With just one contest on the books between these two rivals, the stakes will be high at Mabee Arena when this game tips off at 7:30.
“I think the fact that it’s just one scheduled game is going to up the ante a little bit,” Modin said. “We might see them later on but this is for bragging rights for a whole year and that brings it up a notch. The kids are familiar with each other and it’s a special game.”
In addition to the rivalry, this game also serves as a critical proving ground for two teams still looking to put as many pieces of the puzzle together as they can before the break.
“Every game that you play is an opportunity to capture some momentum and all of our pre-Christmas games are about finding out about your team,” Hooper said. “You want to use the time that you have over the break to make the big decisions if you feel like things need to be adjusted and so if you’re getting a lot of kids opportunities you can find out how different kids handle different situations.”
On the floor, Salina South’s strength will once again lie in their ability to knock down open looks at a high clip, something that allowed them to match pace in their opener with Eisenhower.
“They have really good guards and they shoot it really well,” Modin said. “That has to be the focus of our guys, we have to make it tough for them to move the ball and we can’t give them open looks. We also can’t give them second and third chance opportunities.”
For Central, their advantage lies in creating chaos on the defensive end and pressuring in transition, and South will have to tame the Mustangs to give themselves an edge in this game.
“Central is just like us, it’s a whole new group of faces, but from an Xs and Os standpoint, they’re still a hard-nosed team that shoots the ball well and spreads the floor. They have good spacing, they play hard and I have a lot of respect for their program.”
With both teams trying to avoid an 0-3 start in a colossal rivalry matchup, the stakes at Kansas Wesleyan will be exceptionally high tonight, and the Salina faithful should be in for a show.
“Both teams come in needing this win,” Modin said. “When you’re playing with a new team early in the season it’s important to get early wins when you can get them. We both play a tough schedule and neither of us wants to be sitting at 0-3 where you really start pressing to get over the hump.”
Tip-off between the Cougars and Mustangs is set for 7:30 pm following the girl's game at 6:00. For continuing coverage of both programs all season long, stay tuned to the Salina Post, and follow us on Twitter @spostsports.