Sterling Defeats SES Face hugoton in Finals

​The Sterling Black Bears made their way into the finals of the Sterling Invitational Basketball Tournament with an impressive 58-36 win over the Southeast of Saline Trojans.  Coming in as the top seed, the Black Bears led from the very beginning, but it was tough early.
      Scoring was hard to come by on both ends before the Bears went on a 14-4 run in the second period to take a 26-11 lead into halftime.
      Sterling would eventually push that lead to 22 points early in the fourth quarter.  Led by Carson Gray with 14 points, the Bears would hang on to that advantage until the final buzzer. Gabe Riffel grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for Sterling, who would control the boards, 33-23 over the Trojans.
      Southeast, 4-5 overall, was led by sophomore Gannon Jacobson with 12 points.  Also in double figures for Sterling was sophomore Boston Ekart with 12.
      Advancing into the championship game, Sterling, 9-1, will face Hugoton at 4:30 pm on Saturday afternoon in the Gleason Center at Sterling College. Southeast will play in the third-place contest at 1:30 pm, also at Sterling College, against the Scott City Beavers. (Dwight Nichols)