46th Annual SIt Capsules

The 2018 Sterling Invitational

    The 46th Annual Sterling Invitational Tournaments hosted by Sterling College and Sterling High School begins on January 15, 2018.
     On the boys side the Sterling Black Bears received the number one seed and will face off with their Rice County rivals on the opening night of the tournament. Perennial 3A  power Beloit Trojans enter as the two seed and will face the Remington Broncos on Tuesday. The three seed Hutch Trinity Celtics  will play the two time defending Invitational champion Hugoton Eagles who are the 6th seed. The final matchup of the first round will be the four seed Smoky Valley Vikings and the Southeast of Saline Trojans who will be the 5th seed.  ​

​46th Annual Sterling Invitational Team Capsules
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Sterling Black Bears 7-3
The number one seeded Black Bears enter the tournament with losses to 3A number one state ranked Cheney Cardinals, 7-1 Hillsboro Trojans, and the Bennington Bulldogs.

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Sterling won the Kingman Eagle Classic for the third year in a row defeating Kingman, Valley Center, and Haven.  Sterling finished third in the 2017 Invitational.

Hillsboro (L) 80 - 76
Kingman (W) 60 - 55
Valley Center (W) 58 - 55
Haven (W) 65 - 49
Nickerson (W) 61 - 57
Cheney (L) 56 - 53
Moundridge (W) 76 - 60
Bennington (L) 72 - 71
Trinity (W) 91-77

Beloit Trojans 6-3
Beloit last won the SIT in 2015 and  has won it three times since joining the tournament field back in 2011. The Trojans finished 5th in the 2017 tournament defeating Smoky Valley.

Concordia (L) 62 - 55
Clay Center (W) 61 - 39
Republic County (W) 62 - 41
Southeast of Saline (L) 57 - 43
Ellsworth (W) 46 - 42
Phillipsburg (L) 52 - 37
Russell (W) 68 - 47
Chapman (W) 52 - 44

Trinity Celtics 5-4
Trinity has played a brutal schedule in 2017 and early '18. While only 4-4 those three losses have come against 3A number one Cheney in overtime, 4A Division II number one Wichita Trinity, and to the Bennington Bulldogs in overtime. On Tuesday the Celtics lost to league foe Sterling 91-77 with three starters missing the game due to illness. The Celtics finished fourth in the 2017 SIT.

Haven (W) 67 - 57
Wellington (W) 58 - 54
Chaparral (W) 72 - 51
Cheney (L) 78 - 82 2OT
Trinity Academy (L) 67 - 43
Bennington (L) 59 - 57 
Remington (W) 50 - 43
Sterling (L) 91 - 77

Smoky Valley Vikings 5-4
The Vikings haven't faired well in the Invitational since returning in 2015, but have reached the 4A Division II State Tournament the last two years. The Vikings too have faced a challenging schedule. They handed 7-1 Halstead their only loss, while the Dragons gave the Vikings one of their three losses. The Vikings finished 6th in the 2017 Tournament.

Abilene  85 - 67  ( L)
Southeast of Saline (W)  58 - 52
Concordia  (W) 44 - 37
Hesston (L) 50 - 41
Halstead  (W) 49 - 48
Haven  (W) 50 - 40
Halstead  (L) 57 - 34
Nickerson(W) 65 - 60

Hugoton Eagles 4-4
Since joining the tournament in 2015 the Eagles have won the tournament twice and runner-up once. In 2016 the Eagles finished as the 4A-II State Runner-Up losing to Wichita Collegiate.  The Eagles qualified for the 3A State Tournament in 2017 where they would lose to 2017 SIT Runner-Up Southeast of Saline in the first round. This season the Eagles second in their own Blue and Red Classic losing to  Hooker, Oklahoma in the Final. The Bulldogs are 11-1 on the season.

Guymon (W) 72‑40
Mangum (W) 75‑26
Hooker (L) 59‑66
Dodge City  (L) 75‑78
Goodland (L) 52‑53
Colby (L) 58‑61 
Ulysses (W) 41‑35

Southeast of Saline Trojans 5-3
The Trojans have finished as the runner up in the tournament the past two years. They have also reached the 3A State Tournament in 2016 and 2017 finishing 3rd both seasons. Their signature win this season was giving Hillsboro their only loss on the season.

Marion 54-53 (W) OT
Smoky Valley (L) 52-58 
Beloit (W) 57-43
Hillsboro (W) 55-44
Sacred Heart(L) 51-63
Minneapolis (L) 38-42
Russell (W) 54-46

Remington Broncos (2-7)
The Broncos won the tournament in 2010 and will face perennial tournament power Beloit in the bottom of the bracket.
Halstead (L) 51 - 29
Wichita Home School (L) 62 - 55
Marion (W) 58 - 44
Berean Academy (L) 48 - 34
Bluestem (W) 44 - 26
Sedgwick (L) 56 - 30
Trinity (L) 50 - 43
Marion (L) 44 - 34

Lyons Lions 1-8)
The Lions have struggled this year  and bring an 0-8 record into the tournament. They will try to upset the number one seed and the rival Sterling in the opening round on Monday.
Ellsworth (L) 62 - 43
Inman (L) 52 - 36
Hillsboro (L) 73 - 52 
Moundridge (L) 59 - 44
Larned (L) 56 - 46
Haven (L)
Hoisington (L) 46 - 29
Hesston (L) 59 - 18