Sterling can’t catch UT in Western Big 6 loss

STERLING – Once United Township built the lead, it wasn’t about to give it back to Sterling.

The Golden Warriors fell behind early and never recovered in a 68-59 loss to the Panthers in a Western Big 6 game Tuesday night at Musgrove Fieldhouse.

UT (13-5, 4-2 WB6) shot 27-for-41 from the field (65.9%), and hit 8 of its 18 3-point shots (44.4%). Any time Sterling (10-8, 2-4 WB6) tried to rally, the Panthers had the answer.

[ Photos from Sterling vs. United Township boys basketball ]

“It was difficult. They shot 66% from the field, and that’s pretty tough to guard, for sure,” Sterling senior Nico Battaglia said. “We just had to keep going, keep pushing through anything that was coming our way. They hit a lot of shots, so we just had to keep going, keep fighting.”

Battaglia, who became the 11th Sterling player in program history to make 100 career 3-pointers in Friday’s win at Galesburg, started this one with a 3 just 14 seconds in.

But UT scored 10 straight points, and led 19-11 at the end of the first quarter despite 3s by Maddux Osborn and Battaglia in the final 1:16 of the period.

The Panthers pushed the lead to 29-18 after a pair of 3s by Octavius Hickman, then Connor Pustelnik and Tyler Horvath both hit 3s down the stretch to build the lead to 35-23 at halftime.

“Our offensive side of the ball is something we’ve had to work on all year,” UT coach Andy Saey said. “Defensively, we’ve been all right, but offense has kind of taken us a little bit longer than I’d hoped, so to see it kind of come together and for us to get a win on top of it, that’s a tribute to the kids.

“I was never once comfortable in that game – as a matter of fact, any time we do get a big lead, that’s when I’m usually the most uneasy – but I was happy to see our guys just settle down and play ball, just be basketball players, be on balance and make good decisions.”

Sterling came out strong on offense after the break, but couldn’t make a dent. Every time the Golden Warriors hit a shot or two, the Panthers responded with open layups on back-door cuts to the basket.

“Just coming out of halftime and doing what the coaches tell us to do, just executing, just taking our time knowing that we had the lead. We got into our offense, moved the ball side to side and got easy layups,” Hickman said. “When they’re trying to get more energy and momentum to come back, being able to stop the momentum is huge.”

Trailing 45-29, Osborn hit a step-back 3 then scored in transition off a long pass from Kaedon Phillips to get Sterling within 49-40. Phillips found Will Ports for a layup to open the fourth quarter before Battaglia drove to the hoop for a scoop shot, and the Warriors were within seven (54-47).

But that was as close as they got; layups by Jordan Massey and Horvath restored UT’s lead to 11. Phillips’ step-back 3 with 1:01 to play got it within seven again (66-59), but that was Sterling’s final basket.

“They just took the wind out of our sails there, made some shots down the stretch, and we didn’t capitalize,” Sterling coach Ryan Vasquez said. “When we needed stops we didn’t get them, and they capitalized on our mistakes down the stretch. We knew what we needed to do to make that game ugly there at the end, to try and get back within shouting distance, and opportunities were there, but that’s the game of basketball, and that’s how it goes sometimes.”

Hickman had 22 points, four rebounds and five assists for the Panthers, and Pustelnik finished with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists. Horvath had 11 points, four rebounds and two assists, Jasiah Massey added eight points, and Tucker Speckman chipped in five points and five rebounds.

Battaglia led the Warriors with 20 points and five assists, and Phillips and Osborn each scored 14 points; Phillips, who fought through foul trouble all game, added four assists and three steals, and Osborn chipped in a team-high five rebounds. Ports and Bryce Hartman each scored four points, Brady Berlin added a 3-pointer, and Ports also nabbed a team-high four steals.

“We know what we’re capable of, and I just think it’s confidence,” Battaglia said. “If we’ve got confidence flowing through the court, then it’s going to look good and we’re going to go 100% and play as hard as we can play. We’ve got guys hitting shots and that just gets us going, but tonight was a little rough because we didn’t hit as many shots as we wanted to.”