Southeastern boys rebuilding, girls looking to win

CHILLICOTHE - It’s back to the drawing board for Southeastern this basketball season.

The Panthers’ last time on the court resulted in a 45-44 loss in a Division III sectional final to conference foe Piketon, ending their season with a 13-11 overall record.

They averaged 56.5 points per game last season but after last year’s graduating class — including Tyler Cartee, Terrell Fairrow and Dylan Miles — they’ll need to replace 38.3 points or 67 percent of last year’s scoring.

“We only have two of our starters back from last season,” Southeastern coach Jeran Cox said. “So we’re going to take our lumps and bumps along the way this season. This year, we have mainly upperclassmen on our roster. While normally that would be a great thing, only a small handful of those guys have a good amount of varsity experience, so we’ll use a lot of guys this year.”

Those two returning starters are seniors Justin Dye, who averaged 8.9 points per game a year ago, and Austin Kohn. Southeastern will rely on those two for leadership and on-the-court guidance as they prepare for a tough season in the Scioto Valley Conference.

“Leadership is what I’m expecting from them,” Cox said. “Justin is a three-year starter and Austin is a two-year starter, so they’ve been through the grind and know what it takes in order to be successful on the court. I’m asking a lot from them, but I know they can handle any task I throw in their direction.”

Seniors Isaiah Dresbach, Tyler Carroll and Hunter Miles hope to provide an additional offensive punch for the Panthers as they attack the 2015-16 season head on. Juniors Aaron Benson and Ethan Smith will contribute heavily along with sophomore Rex Hartman, who also will see a lot of minutes.

“Everyone has come in and worked extremely hard on improving and polishing their game as much as they could,” Cox said. “They’ve given great effort and I like what I’ve seen. Some guys are better shooters, some are better defenders and some are better at attacking the basket. Consistency will be the key for us.”

While the Panthers undoubtedly replace the core of their lineup, this season figures to be one of balance.

“With the lack of experience at the varsity level, we’re just looking to get better every game,” Cox said. “It won’t be a smooth season as players will be developing on the fly in terms of game situations. But if we can make the game ugly and keep the score low, that will give us chances to win some games in the end. Even though we have only two seniors, we can still have a successful season.”

Southeastern begins their season on Saturday, traveling to Washington Court House.

Girls Basketball

On the girls’ side of the court, youth is no longer an excuse.

Last season resulted in Southeastern going 18-6 overall and compiling 10 conference wins during the regular season before falling in the Division III district semifinals to the McClain Tigers.

However, with a year of experience under their belts, the Panthers’ time is now — especially with losing just two graduating seniors in Logan Goebel and Emily Dresbach.

“We’re still young, but we have kids with a lot of experience,” Southeastern coach Mike Adams said. “Therefore, no one has any excuses. We had a great year last season and I expect the same thing this season. The league will be really nice this year, but I expect us to be right at the top competing for a championship.”

Everything for the Panthers begins with the dynamic duo sophomore Ella Skeens and her partner in crime, junior Audrie Wheeler.

“This is their year,” Adams said. “I expect big things and big numbers from them this season. They were our leading scorers last season and it will probably be that way again. But with losing two seniors who were both four-year starters, those two also will have to be leaders. I’m putting a lot on their shoulders, but I know they can handle it.”

Junior Kali Mitten returns to run the offense and dictate the pace as the Panthers’ point guard, while sophomores Mandy Morris, McKinley Mitten and Rachel Collins will help fuel the Panthers’ attack.

“Those four are going to be key for us this year,” Adams said. “With Ella and Audrie garnering so much attention, those four have to step up. Kali is a wonderful player and very smart on the court. Mandy does a lot of the dirty work; she’ll grab a lot of rebounds and help push the ball up the court. McKinley can step in and knock down some shots and Rachel I feel can be a force on the inside for us. If she wants it bad enough, she could dominate in the league.”

With the slew of talent on their roster combined with the youthful experience they have, the Panthers will be looked to as the favorite to challenge for an SVC championship.

“This is a no-excuse year,” Adams said. “We have the talent to compete and we have to get the job done. We have to treat each practice like they’re important and that will carry over to game situations .We play a really tough schedule and that’s only going to help us improve and make us better as the season progresses. We wanted to make it tough, since the only way to improve is to play tough, quality teams.”

Southeastern took a lump in their season opener with a 72-35 loss to Lynchburg-Clay. They’ll look to rebound on Dec. 1when they travel to Williamsport for a showdown with Westfall.