Salina South boys basketball gets some answers in season-opening victory over Salina Central
Salina South coach Jason Hooper had some questions to answer with his new group of players.
Te'Jon McDaniel was the only returner who played significantly for the Cougars on a team that went 16-5 last season.
Hooper found some answers with his new group Friday night against Salina Central. The Cougars opened up the season with a dominating 57-35 victory over the Mustangs at the South gym.
South improved to 1-0, while Central fell to 0-1. The win was South's fourth straight over its crosstown rival.
"We knew a lot of people from the outside looking in weren't going to think that we might not get off to a great start this year with all the inexperience," Hooper said. "Our practices the last three weeks have been fantastic and it didn't surprise me one bit when we got off to the start we did.
"I was really proud of our group. We had 10 kids play and they all played well together."
When the Cougars went out to warm up for their first game, Hooper decided to change their routine up a little bit.
"(We) get a new experience out there, try something new and get a new feel of this new team and just try to be more together and be more of a family," said McDaniel, who led the Cougars with 20 points.
More: Meet the Salina Journal's 2021 All-Saline County high school football team
Te'Jon McDaniel's role is bigger unlike last year's
One of Hooper's goals for McDaniel this season was to score more.
His 20 points came on 7 of 8 shooting, including 2-for-2 on 3-pointers and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line.
"The nice thing about it was I didn't feel like any of it was forced," Hooper said. "He did a nice job of getting it within the structure of what we're trying to do. Te'Jon did exactly what we needed him to do — score in crucial situations.
"Te'Jon is a big piece of our program."
With South leading 17-11 at the end of the first quarter, the Cougars' leading scorer wasn't McDaniel.
It was senior Devin Myers, a transfer from Leavenworth, who scored seven points in the period. However, Myers had to sit after picking up three fouls in the first eight minutes. He finished with nine points in his Cougar debut.
"As a team, we always say like, 'Everyone's going to have a good night,'" McDaniel said. "My teammates (are) just trusting me every time I go down the court. I always believe my teammates trust me in every shot I take."
More: Salina South boys basketball’s lack of experience will test the team early in the 2021 season
Salina Central battled adversity throughout
Ryan Modin had no problem with the Mustangs' effort, despite the 22-point loss.
Central shot just 30.6% from the field and was 11-for-25 from the free-throw line.
"(Our) execution wasn't there really, especially on the offensive end," Modin said. "We look at missed layups, close-in shots, high-percentage shots that we missed. When you're leaving that many points on the line ... that hurts you.
Foul trouble haunted the Mustangs, especially from their leaders. Kenyon McMillan was out for a long stretch after picking up two quick fouls.
"The problem with losing him, he's such a high-energy guy," Modin said. "He's so smart on defense and he's kind of an igniter there on both sides of it when he's in there.
"He goes and gets steals and runs the floor. We decided to risk it and put him in there with two (and) then he got his third."
Nolan Puckett led the Mustangs with 13 points, including nine of their first 11 points.
More: Salina Central boys basketball team relying on senior class for success in 2021 season
Central continues its three-game road swing Tuesday with an Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Division II matchup at Goddard Eisenhower, while South entertains Buhler in a nonconference game at the South gym.
Dylan Sherwood has been a sports reporter for the Salina Journal since August 2019. He can be reached at dsherwood@salina.com or on Twitter @DSherwoodSJ
This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: How a new look Salina South boys basketball team opened the season defeating Salina Central
