Boys basketball: Sterling finally pulls away from Princeton

STERLING – Every time Sterling pulled out to a lead, Princeton reeled the Golden Warriors back in.

Despite taking the lead only twice all game, the Tigers were tied with 1:34 left to play in the third quarter Friday night in the regular-season finale for both teams at Musgrove Fieldhouse.

Finally, Sterling managed to build a lead and keep it, using a second-half surge to pull away for a 65-53 victory.

“We just stayed together, made the extra pass, got better shots up, crashed the boards. We just played together as a team really well,” senior forward Lucas Austin said. “That was the key. The first half, we played really sluggish on defense, which was because we weren’t making our shots. But once we started knocking down our shots, we started playing great defense, locking up, getting out in transition.”

The Golden Warriors (23-8) led by at least five points seven times through the first three quarters, but every time Princeton (14-15) battled back to tie or take the lead.

The Tigers used a 7-0 run to take a 13-12 lead on a Daniel Sousa 3-pointer before Andre Klaver’s three-point play and Nico Battaglia’s 3 to close the first quarter put the Warriors back in front. Then Princeton rallied from a 38-33 deficit with six straight points to pull ahead 39-38 with 3:09 left in the third on Noah LaPorte’s dunk.

This time, Austin nailed a 3, then hit two free throws to put Sterling ahead again. LaPorte hit four straight free throws to tie the game 43-43 with 1:34 to play in the period.

“Playing as a team, keeping that effort and intensity, that’s the stuff we need,” LaPorte said. “They’d go on a run, take the lead, and we came right back. Our rebounding, keeping them to one-and-done on offense, that was a big factor, and then we were sharing the ball.

“Especially bouncing it out for 3-point shots off the drives, it opens up everything. Everyone can get their shots up, and everyone can drive the lane too. It’s just nice to have.”

But that’s when Sterling finally got the lead to stick.

Austin hit a 3 off a kick-out pass from fellow senior Carter Chance, then Maddux Osborne scored on an inbounds play off a pretty pass from Battaglia before scoring off a Klaver drive-and-dish play as the Warriors closed the third with a 7-0 run. Klaver scored baskets on a baseline cut and a drive down the lane to open the fourth, and suddenly Sterling led 54-43 with 6:28 to play.

“When we get downhill and get kick-out 3s, we have a much higher-percentage shot. When things aren’t going our way on either the offensive end of the defensive end, we just have to be able to get downhill and make things happen,” Klaver said. “We drove to the basket, and Lucas hitting 3s, I mean, tell me one time you haven’t heard that.”

It looked like Princeton would again respond when LaPorte converted a three-point play on the Tigers’ next possession, but Kaedon Phillips scored a runout layup, then Austin hit a pretty turnaround jumper to push the lead to 58-46. Klaver then answered LaPorte’s putback with a drive to the hoop to make it 50-48 with 2:27 to go.

Sterling coach Ryan Vasquez put all five of his seniors – Klaver, Chance, Rowan Workman, Austin and Brecken Peterson – on the court together for a possession in the final two minutes, and they worked the ball around before Austin found a wide-open Workman for a 3. Both teams finished the final minute with reserves on the floor.

Klaver had game-highs of 25 points and six assists to go with four rebounds, and Austin finished with 15 points, a team-high seven rebounds and two assists. Phillips stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, six rebounds, a game-high six steals and two assists, and Osborne added six points, three assists and a blocked shot for the Warriors.

“Defensive stops were the key,” Klaver said. “We were not getting stops early, then we would walk down and get into a set. We felt like we were faster than this team, and we wanted to get out and run, so when we started getting stops we got out in transition, and that’s really what allowed us to take the game over.”

LaPorte led Princeton with 24 points and six rebounds, and Sousa scored all 12 of his points in the first half while adding a team-high eight rebounds and two assists. Tyson Phillips had five points, four rebounds and two steals for the Tigers, and Korte Lawson chipped in four points and a team-high three assists.

“It’s very nice to see some good teams like this to end the regular season. Getting those tests right before the playoffs is big, really prepares us,” LaPorte said. “On defense, we’re always talking about picking it up and putting pressure on them. They’re great scorers, so we knew we had to do that.

“It’s great to play these bigger schools and these teams that are well-rounded and don’t really have a flaw in their game.”