Boys basketball: Sterling fires on all cylinders to top Geneseo

STERLING – In a Western Big 6 matchup at Musgrove Fieldhouse on Thursday night, Sterling had the edge over Geneseo in just about every way.

The Golden Warriors used their height advantage to snag 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, and their defensive aggressiveness made for 10 steals as they established a 43-point halftime lead. Resting its starters for the duration of the second half, Sterling coasted to a 76-41 win.

[ Photos: Sterling vs Geneseo boys basketball ]

“Our goal was just to put them away as fast as we could, so, get our pressure up there, get some steals, hit some good, open shots. We just wanted to get over with the game,” Sterling senior forward Lucas Austin said. “We knew that they can’t handle ball pressure, so we sent two there, we sent one, we messed around with it so they weren’t certain on what we were doing all the time.”

The Golden Warriors (14-3, 4-2 WB6) rolled to a 28-9 first-quarter lead over the Maple Leafs (1-15, 0-6) behind a 12-point barrage from Austin.

Austin tied the game at 2 with a layup with 6:42 remaining, hit a pair of 3-pointers from the left wing and left corner midway through, and used his 6-foot-7 frame to drop in two putbacks for the 19-point lead in the final minute.

Austin’s game-tying layup ignited a 15-0 run for Sterling, a stretch that included a fast-break layup by senior forward Carter Chance, a steal and fast-break layup by junior guard Kaedon Phillips and a right-wing 3 by junior guard Nico Battaglia. Austin’s second 3-pointer capped the 15-point run with 4:23 remaining in the first.

“Defense leads to offense, and that’s how we get a lot of points,” Phillips said. “Ball pressure and forcing them to the sideline, and making them turn over the ball a lot [is how we limited them].”

In the second quarter, Sterling outscored Geneseo 26-2 to put the game out of reach. The Golden Warriors had a 26-0 run going for more than seven minutes, but Geneseo junior Owen Parker sank a layup with 16 seconds left to prevent a shutout quarter.

Sterling senior guard Andre Klaver kickstarted the second-quarter surge 15 seconds in, finishing a three-point play after a strip-steal and fast-break layup. Over the next 4:21, Klaver hit a technical free throw, scored a fast-break layup off his own steal and nailed a top-of-the key 3 for a 40-point lead. Austin tacked on 11 more points in the first 5:18 of the second quarter, hitting twice from the beyond arc, completing a three-point play after a putback and sinking a post layup.

Austin and Klaver both exited the game with a little over two minutes left in the second quarter, giving way to a 6-0 scoring run by Phillips.

Phillips struck first with a fast-break layup off a Battaglia steal and assist with 2:02 remaining, then again off a drive and layup in the halfcourt. He capped the scoring streak with a pair of free throws after grabbing a steal and drawing a foul on a layup attempt with 1:18 remaining.

After Parker’s layup, Sterling led 54-11 at halftime.

“Throughout the whole week, we’ve been doing fast-break drills, and you saw our press, so we’ve been doing that a lot,” Phillips said. “Coach [Ryan Vasquez] just told us to get out to a fast start, and make ‘em drained, and that’s what they looked like in the first half.”

“When you steal the ball and get fast breaks, it’s easy to get more points, and our team gets hyped whenever we try to get a dunk up,” Austin said. “KP tried to get a couple – it didn’t go really well – but it was pretty fun.”

Maddux Osborn, Rowan Workman, Brecken Peterson, Will Ports and Shawn Dir each scored a basket in the second half for Sterling.

Austin totaled game highs of 23 points and seven rebounds; Klaver supplied 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals; and Phillips contributed 11 points, three assists and three steals. Battaglia totaled three points, three steals and three assists, and Osborn added six points off the bench for the Golden Warriors.

Parker led Geneseo with 17 points and three rebounds, and sophomore Graysen Carlson added seven points.

“They’re a tough matchup. They’re led by some guys that have played a lot of varsity basketball,” Geneseo coach Ryan Hill said. “They stayed composed and really dictated the play of everything tonight. I didn’t think we handled that probably the greatest tonight, but those guys [Klaver and Austin] are both college athletes, as well.”