Strong Second Period Lifts Sterling over Southeast of Saline

     With a spot in the SIT Championship on the line, the Sterling Black Bears and Southeast
of Saline Trojans went to battle. Through the first quarter, it appeared to be a contest primarily between Kenan Comley(20 pts) of Sterling and Jake Huffaker(20 pts) of Southeast; going backand forth and ending in a 19-15 Southeast advantage.However, this was just the warm-up for oneof the most explosive quarters for Sterling all season. Led by a 13 point single quarter performance by Lucas Briar(30 pts), Sterling went 4/4 from beyond the three-point arc, Blake Richter(11 pts) capped off the quarter with a buzzer beater trey to take Sterling ahead 39-24 into the break.
     The Bears picked up where they left, in the first half, extending the lead to a 21 point gap near the end of the third quarter. Hunter White(15 pts) and Seth Eklund (6 pts) helped the Trojans stay within striking distance, however, the Black Bears held a strong 55-37 lead into the fourth. John Schweizer of Sterling helped keep White, who had given Smoky Valley headaches, in check until late in the fourth quarter. Late in the game Southeast ramped up the pressure and attempted to mount a comeback, at one point dropping the Sterling lead to nine; however, the Bears responded, sunk some late free-throws and emerged with a 70-57 win.