Sterling “Presses Out” Big Win Over Lyons

     The Sterling Black Bears defeated the Lyons Lions in the first round of the 46​th ​Annual Sterling Boys Invitational.
​     In the first half, Lucas Briar of Sterling and Jonathan Gomez of Lyons stole the show, Briar scoring 14, Gomez with 11.  A solid Black Bear defense forced 9 turnovers in the first half, and converted those turnovers into 18 points. This, along with a strong performance by the Sterling bench, outscoring the Lyons bench 13-2 led to a 36-21 halftime advantage for the Bears.
     The story of the second half was defined by the first four minutes of the third quarter. Unveiling a full court press the Bears forced 4 turnovers in the process of the four minutes. Sterling on the offensive  end came out of the lockerroom smoking hot from the perimeter, going on a 13-2 run to open the period extending the Black bear lead to 26.
    Blake Richter paced Sterling with 9 points  in the third quarter, Max Dutton and Kenan Comley added treys as well. Lyons responded to close out the quarter, with Terek Smith scoring 8, also leading the Lions in rebounding. With a 22 point lead into the fourth quarter, the Black Bears cruised the rest of the game out with final  73-51.