In the finale at their own MLK tournament on Monday afternoon, the Sterling boys basketball team rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit to defeat Chicago Christ The King 59-47 and finish the tournament 3-0.

Sterling trailed 16-7 after the first quarter and fell behind by as many as a dozen, but got back within 30-22 by halftime, and took control with a 19-5 third-quarter surge.

Lucas Austin led the Golden Warriors (14-8) with a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds, and he hit three 3-pointers. JP Schilling scored 17 points to go with seven rebounds, Kyle Billings hit four 3s for 12 points, Andre Klaver scored five points, and Tyree Kelly finished with four points and seven rebounds.

Malik Petty paced Christ The King with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Calvin Worsham added 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Josh Reed chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds.

Pecatonica MLK

Eastland 55, Galena 32: The Cougars led 14-6 after the opening quarter and 29-10 by halftime to win the third-place game in Pecatonica.

All-tournament selection Kellen Henze led Eastland with 25 points, and Andy Anderson added 12.

Connor Glasgow and Parker Studtmann both scored 10 points for Galena.

Durand 61, Polo 44: The Marcos couldn’t keep up as the Bulldogs slowly pulled away to win the seventh-place game in Pecatonica.

Tyler Merdian hit three 3-pointers and scored 19 points to pace Polo, and Carter Merdian hit a pair of 3s and added nine points. The Marcos trailed 9-7 after the first quarter, 28-18 at halftime, and 41-28 through three periods.

Nathan Folk had 19 points, and Trenton Taylor added 16 for Durand.

South Beloit MLK

Forreston 4th in South Beloit: The Cardinals defeated Alden-Hebron 52-25, but lost to Harvest Christian 56-37 in the third-place game at South Beloit.

The Cardinals took control against Alden-Hebron with a 26-6 scoring edge in the third quarter. Owen Greenfield and Payton Encheff scored 11 points apiece for Forreston.

Against Harvest Christian, the Cardinals were outscored 20-4 in the second quarter. Greenfield again scored 11 points, and Cole Becker added nine. Greenfield was named to the all-tournament team.

AFC loses twice: The Raiders fell to Stillman Valley and Alden-Hebron in their final two games in South Beloit.

In a 54-25 loss to Stillman, AFC trailed just 18-11 at halftime before the Cardinals went on a 22-5 third-quarter run. Griffin Bushman hit four 3-pointers to lead the Raiders with 12 points.

AFC lost its finale 59-58 in overtime, as it was outscored 9-8 in the extra period by Alden-Hebron. The Raiders led 27-21 at halftime and 41-34 through three quarters, but couldn’t hold on. Bushman hit five 3s for 15 points, and Carson Rueff and Jordan Harris each had 13 points for AFC.

Girls basketball

Stillman Valley 51, Polo 41: The Marcos led 14-6 after the first quarter, but the Cardinals rallied within 22-21 by halftime, then took the lead with a 24-14 third-period surge.

Lindee Poper led Polo with 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots, and Kadence Sheaffer and Nicole Boelens added eight points each; Sheaffer also had 10 rebounds and five steals, and Boelens chipped in four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Natalie Nelson finished with four points, six rebounds and three assists.

Taylor Davidson had 21 points, and Mya Janssen scored 14 for Stillman Valley.

Erie-Prophetstown 44, Bureau Valley 27: The Panthers downed the Storm in a Three Rivers crossover contest at the Storm Cellar in Manlius.

Kate Salisbury and Lexi Marquez scored seven points apiece for BV.

Byron MLK

Polo 0-2 at Byron: The Marcos lost 57-24 to Galena and 38-28 to Hall in their final two games in Byron.

Polo trailed 20-3 at the end of the first quarter against Galena and never recovered. Hailey Greenfield scored eight points, and Letrese Buisker added five points, six rebounds and two steals for Forreston. Jenna Greenfield finished with four points and seven rebounds, and Brooke Boettner had two points, two assists and three steals.

The Marcos led Hall 17-13 at halftime, but were outscored 25-11 in the second half by the Red Devils. Hailey Greenfield had eight points, Boettner added seven points, three rebounds and three steals, and Jenna Greenfield finished with five points and seven rebounds for Polo. Larson had seven rebounds and two assists, and Buisker grabbed nine rebounds.

Girls bowling

Dixon 2nd in Sterling: The Duchesses rolled a 4,822 to finish behind only Geneseo (4,972) at the eight-team Sterling MLK Invite at Blackhawk Lanes.

Oregon was fourth with a 4,685, led by individual runner-up Ava Wight’s 1,188 six-game series. Sterling took seventh (4,089), and Erie-Prophetstown placed eighth (3,720).

Tianna Bryson led Dixon with a fourth-place individual finish, as her 1,111 six-game series included a high game of 224. Grace DeBord was 10th with a 951, and Autumn Swift was 11th with a 946. Leslie Pettorini (16th, 912) and Abby Tate (18th, 902) also finished in the top 20 to round out the Duchesses’ lineup.

Wight closed her morning session with games of 228 and 214 for a 569, then opened the afternoon with a 230 en route to a 619. Oregon also got a 12th-place finish from from Kendra Ehrler (938), and a tie for 13th from Mackenzie Alford (930), while Paige Beauchem’s 903 was good for 17th place. Trinity Hultquist rolled a 653 in five games, and Kylie Krug added a game of 73.

Hannah Conderman led Sterling in ninth place with a 984. Brendy Gatica (866), Katelynn Garcia (825), Emily Doss (766) and Madison Schmitt (648) also bowled for the Golden Warriors.

Khloee Rangel led Erie-Prophetstown with an 877, while Hannah Neumiller (770), Mysti Moody (744), Ysabell Hamm (665) and Jolene Wells (664) also competed for the Panthers.

Galesburg’s Chloe Day took the individual title with a six-game pinfall of 1,320, recording the top two three-game series of the day with a 634 in the morning and a 686 in the afternoon. She also rolled the top three games of 277, 242 and 232.