This season, which appears to be a turnaround year, was back in full swing after Tonganoxie played 3-1 De Soto on Tuesday. Results from that game can be seen in next week’s edition of The Mirror. On Friday, the Chieftains play 1-4 Lansing before taking on 4-1 Bonner Springs at home Jan. 17.

THS boys basketball

David Walker would like to think time is healing most of his team’s wounds.

Smarting from a 20-point loss to Mill Valley on Dec. 20, last week’s practices, Walker said, have provided relief to Tonganoxie’s pains.

“I think this week has been like a big band-aid,” Walker said. “It’s been able to heal some wounds and fix some things.”

The Chieftains dealt with illness in that game, as senior Jacob Walker and junior Luke McCarty played with the flu, while Joe Calovich nursed a sore hamstring. Tonganoxie’s ailments, however, haven’t been just muscle strains and colds. The Chieftains are shooting below 50 percent from the free-throw line and haven’t had the offensive production Walker would like.

On the upside, though, the Chieftains aren’t allowing hordes of points.

They’ll test those statistics in the coming weeks.

Tonganoxie played 1-4 De Soto on Tuesday, but then faces Lansing (4-1 overall and 3-1 in the Delaware Valley League) and Bonner Springs (3-1 and 1-1) the next two Fridays. And on Jan. 20, the Tonganoxie Invitational tips off, giving the Chieftains three more games in six days.

“I think it’s that time of year,” Walker said. “It’s time to buckle down and get into the meat of your schedule and start getting after it.”