Sterling shakes off Smoky Valley for win

Fighting off a slow start, the #1 seeded Sterling Black Bears found their stride and advanced through the first round of the Sterling Invitational Tournament with a 57-43 win over the Smoky Valley Vikings in the final game of the day on Thursday.
      Despite going 0-4 from the foul line in the first quarter, the Bears were able to edge out a 10-7 lead after the first period.  An 11-0 run to start the second quarter pushed the lead to double digits and the host Bears never looked back.
      The Vikings committed 14 turnovers in the first half, while Sterling shot 9 of 13 from the field in the second quarter to take control. The sixth-ranked Class 2A Black Bears would stretch their lead to 21 points in the third quarter.
      Sterling finished the game shooting 45 percent overall while committing only seven turnovers.  The Vikings would shoot 42 percent from the field but end up committing 22 turnovers for the game.
      Sterling, 8-1 overall, was led in scoring and rebounding by Boston Ekart off the bench with 17 points and seven rebounds. Also in double figures for Sterling were Gabe Riffel with 14 points and Isaac Briar with 11. Smoky Valley was led by Kian Blanchat with a game-high of 19 points. Samuel Peterson grabbed nine rebounds.
     Sterling will play in the semi-finals Friday night at 7:30 pm against Southeast of Saline.  Smoky Valley, 1-6, will face Lyons at 3:00 pm.  Both games will take place in the Gleason Center at Sterling College. (Dwight Nichols)
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