Ottawa senior guard Hezekiah Joachim stayed focused facing six crucial free throws in the final minutes of a Pirates victory Tuesday against Sterling.

He converted six in a row to ice a 50-44 Pirates victory and keep the home team unbeaten through two games in the Dean Riley “Shootin’ the Rock” Tournament. Sterling dropped to 0-2 on the young season.

“I was saying, ‘Lord, give me strength,’ and I just kept on repeating it through the free throws,” Joachim said.

Ottawa coach Mark Cooper acknowledged the Pirates didn’t play their best basketball Tuesday at Kingman Gym. He was, however, pleased they still found a way to win.

“We talked about finding ways to get wins on nights when the ball doesn’t go in and maybe we don’t play our best,” said Cooper of a performance in which the Pirates shot 30% from the court and 28% from beyond the 3-point line.

Despite their shooting, the Pirates (2-0) led the entirety of the game, but never by more than eight points. The Golden Warriors – who shot 33% from the floor – drew within one, 44-43, with just less than three minutes left after a bucket from AJ Coleman.

Following a steal with less than two minutes remaining, Sterling’s Xavier Prather appeared to be on his way to a fast break and an opportunity for his team to go ahead, but his momentum caused him to step out of bounds before heading down the floor, giving back possession to Ottawa.

Joachim converted two of what would be a string of six consecutive free throws to ice the game.

After Joachim’s initial two free throws, the Warriors were called for a travel before they could muster a shot to try to tie it. Joachim made his four free throws to Sterling’s one free throw in the final 30 seconds.

“We had to flip the script, because we didn’t come ready to compete (Monday in a loss to Pontiac), and we knew we had to compete against a well-coached, talented Ottawa team,” said Sterling coach Ryan Vasquez. “Our guys responded.

“Down the stretch, it was just turnovers, live-ball turnovers. When you’re turning the ball over, you know you’re limiting yourself, and we just hurt ourselves down the stretch there.”

Sterling’s Prather finished with a game-high 17 points, going 3-for-8 from beyond the arc. Coleman joined him in double digits with 11. Jack Saathoff owned the glass, registering 19 rebounds (six of them on offense).

For the Pirates, Owen Sanders had 15 points, hitting two 3-pointers and bringing the Kingman Gym crowd to its feet with a dunk in the third quarter. Blake Schiltz turned in 11, converting a pair of 3-pointers.

“I thought it was a struggle for both teams from the tip,” Cooper said. “Neither team shot well. It ended up a fairly physical game, and we were fortunate to get out of here with a win. We’re going to have to up our level of play, which we’re capable of doing.”

Joachim said it’s more satisfying winning the hard-fought contests.

“I like the ones where, at the end, it’s super tough and we pull it out,” said Joachim, who finished with eight points. “I feel like those are better than a blowout win. When we pulled it out, I was super excited.”

Ottawa will play fellow undefeated Pontiac at 7 p.m. Friday. Sterling will take on Princeton at 2:30 p.m. Friday.