This past season, and more than likely next year as well, the Melcher-Dallas basketball squads are playing without a home gym. The Melcher-Dallas gym was deemed unusable after last season due to damage from a late winter storm and the school is in the process of rebuilding the gym and other parts of the school that were affected. But that likely will not be available until the 2023/2024 school year. Boys Coach John Suntken tells KNIA Sports it was not ideal for his team to play all road games this season, but he said it taught them to be a little more mentally tougher than they would have been.

Suntken: “It affects the time and affects a lot of different things offensively and defensively. I told them, the free throw line is the same, the 3 point line is the same, the rims are the same, so let’s go do what we need to do.”

Both Saints squads used Southeast Warren as their home gym this season and likely that will have to be the situation next season as the new Melcher-Dallas gym gets constructed.