Boys basketball: Rock Island’s strong start sinks Sterling

STERLING – Rock Island was red hot from the jump Tuesday night, and Sterling just couldn’t keep up.

The Rocks built a double-digit lead five minutes into the game and never looked back in a 66-34 win over the Golden Warriors in a Western Big 6 game at Musgrove Fieldhouse.

Three players scored 16 points or more for Rock Island (6-1, 2-0 WB6), which used a combination of driving layups and open 3-pointers to blitz Sterling (6-1, 1-1) from the start.

[ Photos from Sterling vs. Rock Island boys basketball ]

“I felt like we ran the offense pretty well. We’ve been focusing on our movement and transition game and running our plays, and I feel like it translated to the game tonight,” senior KJ LaMonte said. “We were all just feeding off each others’ energy.

“I think once you’re winning like that, once the ball’s moving and you’re playing with that energy, most likely the shots are going to go in, and I think that’s why everybody was making them. The basket looked huge, and you’ve got to love nights like these.”

LaMonte scored seven of the first nine points for Rock Island (6-1, 2-0 WB6) and assisted on the other basket in the first three minutes. Larry Olivier Jr. scored a layup after the Rocks recovered a loose ball at their own end of the court, and then LaMonte found Olivier open for a 3 the next trip for a 14-3 lead with 3:41 left in the first quarter.

Olivier hit two more 3s in the first quarter and added another in the second, and LaMonte and Dezmund Jackson each hit three 3s of their own in the second quarter as the Rocks built a 47-22 halftime lead.

“Live-ball turnovers leaked out to wide-open transition 3s and easy layups, and then we weren’t able to get stops when we needed them. When we’re not scoring, we have to defend to give ourselves a chance to win, and we didn’t do either of those tonight,” Sterling coach Ryan Vasquez said. “They took the wind out of our sails early, and when you make shots, that gives your defense energy. They did that tonight.”

Sterling (6-1, 1-1) scored seven of the first nine points of the second quarter to get within 24-17, as Lucas Austin and Nico Battaglia both nailed 3s off assists from Andre Klaver. But LaMonte answered with 3s on back-to-back possessions, then hit another a minute later to make it 33-19.

Jackson hit consecutive shots from deep, then Olivier and Jackson knocked down 3s in the final minute of the first half as the Rocks hit all seven 3s they shot in the second quarter and finished 10-for-14 from deep in the first half.

“It was super important to start fast. You want to get the fans out of the game as early as possible, and I think our defense did that,” LaMonte said. “We got easy looks in transition from 3-point range, so I think that’s why we shot 7 for 7 from 3-point range in the second quarter.”

“Our kids came out ready to play,” Rock Island coach Marc Polite said. “As a head coach, you know your group, and I really felt like they were laser focused. This was a really important game for us, and I thought we came out and played well. This is a group that’s been together for some time, and they play off each other and that creates energy.”

Sterling’s Kaedon Phillips opened the second half with a pretty spin move and hung in the air to hit a jumper, but LaMonte and Jackson sparked an 11-2 run to essentially put the game away for the Rocks. A drive down the lane by Jackson and a putback by point guard Lawson Zulu at the third-quarter buzzer made it 62-30, then Zulu hit a floater in the lane to open the fourth quarter as the running clock kicked in.

LaMonte finished with game highs of 22 points and six assists, and Jackson added 18 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Olivier scored all 16 of his points in the first half, and Zulu chipped in six points, six rebounds and three assists. The Rocks shot 64% (25-for-39) from the field before emptying the bench for the final five minutes, including 61% (11-for-18) from 3-point range.

Klaver led the Warriors with 11 points and two assists, Battaglia added nine points on three 3s, and Phillips scored seven points. Austin – who was honored before the game after becoming the 11th Sterling player to score 1,000 career points in the last game – added six points, four rebounds and two steals.

“We came out here 6-0, and we haven’t really played a game where we haven’t made shots. We didn’t make shots this game, and we saw how that affected our energy. So we’ve got to find a way to bring that energy even when we’re not making shots,” Klaver said. “We know our potential this year, and for us to do this tonight, it’s eye-opening for sure.

“They put up half a hundred points in the first half. We’re a team that prides ourselves on our defense, and holding teams under 60 points; I believe we won 90% of our games when teams stayed under that [last year], and we gave up almost 80% of that in the first half tonight. We’ve got to learn how to play defense when adversity hits.”