Jayden Fulkerson’s long 3 to end third quarter sparks Princeton in win over Sterling

PRINCETON - With time winding down in the third quarter, Princeton senior Jayden Fulkerson dribbled the ball toward the volleyball line.

He let the ball fly.

The ball went through the hoop with 1.6 seconds left, sending the Princeton faithful into a frenzy and giving the Tigers a two-point lead entering the final eight minutes.

“I turned around and saw the clock,” Fulkerson said. “One of the defenders was coming up behind me. I thought I had enough time to give it up, but I didn’t, so I took the shot and luckily, it went in.

“I think it boosted our confidence. It got the crowd pumped up, which got us going and helped us a lot.”

Princeton rode the momentum to a 56-47 nonconference victory over Sterling on Friday in Prouty Gymnasium in the regular season finale to extend the Tigers’ winning streak to nine games.

Princeton's Jordan Reinhardt drives on Sterling's Maddux Osborn Friday night at Prouty Gym. The Tigers won 56-47. (Mike Vaughn)

“We played just gutsy, gritty and with heart and passion,” Princeton coach Jason Smith said. “They threw everything at us but the kitchen sink. I thought our kids maybe bent a little bit, but didn’t break and we played really well together.”

The Tigers (18-12) look to carry their momentum into the postseason when they host a Class 2A regional. No. 4-seeded Princeton, which is looking to win its fourth consecutive regional, plays the winner between No. 5 Mendota and No. 12 Aurora Central Catholic in a semifinal Wednesday.

“We’re playing well, but we can’t focus on the nine wins (in a row),” Smith said. “That’s behind us. We have to focus on the opponent in front of us whether that’s Mendota, who’s really good, or Aurora Central Catholic, who I know nothing about. Once we focus and hone in, I think we do really good things. I think these guys will be ready to practice Monday.”

Despite his team’s loss, Sterling coach Ryan Vasquez was happy his Golden Warriors (14-16) got in a physical game in a loud environment against a good team leading into the postseason.

The Golden Warriors are a No. 4 seed and will play No. 6 Morris in a Class 3A Morris Regional semifinal Wednesday.

“We’re playing Morris on their home floor and they’re going to give us everything we can handle,” Vasquez said. “They’re well coached. We’re going to have to be pretty darn good to be able to get the job done. I know these guys are excited and they’re ready for the opportunity.”

The Tigers got the job done Friday with a strong fourth quarter.

Jordan Reinhardt drained a 3-pointer off an assist from Noah LaPorte to start the fourth quarter, LaPorte followed with a pair of free throws and Reinhardt scored on a layup to push Princeton’s lead to 48-39.

“We had to string some stops together and some scores,” Smith said. “Once we did that, I thought Sterling started chucking a little bit and we just rebounded to keep them to one and done. I thought that was important. We just played really, really good that fourth quarter.”

The Golden Warriors got as close as 50-47 on back-to-back 3s by Maddux Osborn, but LaPorte drove for a bucket, Luke Smith hit two free throws and the Tigers put an exclamation point on the victory when Reinhardt tossed the ball off the backboard for LaPorte to jump, catch the ball and throw down a dunk with 3.1 seconds left.

“At the end of game we tried to make it look ugly a little bit,” Vasquez said. “We thought maybe we had a little spark in us, and they just finished it off.

“We weren’t the better team tonight. Princeton played a heck of a game. They were able to capitalize. I thought we did some nice things defensively, but at the end of the day, we didn’t get the ball in the hoop enough.”

Sterling led 18-16 after one quarter and 30-26 at halftime after Nico Battaglio drained a 3 – his 100th of the season – with 1:46 left in the second quarter.

The Golden Warriors led 35-29 with 4:44 left in the third before the Tigers rallied.

Fulkerson drained four 3s and scored a game-high 16 points, while LaPorte had 15 points and Reinhardt added 13.

“The kid has been so good for us throughout the whole year,” Jason Smith said about Fulkerson. “When he believes in himself, he’s one of the better point guards in the area and he showed it tonight.

“The last two games, Jordan and Noah haven’t been our two leading scorers. Somebody else stepped up and we won tonight against a really good team. We have other avenues to beat people other than Jordan and Noah and that makes us even more scary.”

Osborn finished with 15 points for Sterling, while Battaglia had four 3s to score 12 points and Will Ports and Kaedon Phillips contributed 10 points each.

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