Area roundup: Sterling boys can’t keep up with Galesburg in WB6 loss

Sophomore Andre Klaver set the tone early for Sterling against Galesburg on Tuesday night in Western Big 6 action at John Thiel Gymnasium.

He netted 13 of the Golden Warriors’ 15 points in the first quarter, but the guard was shut down by the Silver Streaks after that, and Galesburg ended up with a 74-48 win in a game in which Sterling never held a lead.

“Andre came out and was aggressive early and he got some easy buckets, but unfortunately we weren’t able to stop Galesburg on the defensive end,” Sterling coach Ryan Vasquez said. “I think they scored on 12 out of their first 13 possessions.”

The Golden Warriors (15-9, 3-6 WB6) faced a 24-15 deficit at the end of the first eight minutes, and they trailed the Streaks 35-27 at halftime. Sterling was behind 48-36 heading into the fourth quarter.

Besides lone senior Tyree Kelly, the rest of Sterling’s lineup is comprised of seven juniors and four sophomores – and at times, the Golden Warriors’ youth was on full display versus the Streaks.

“We’re young and we’re learning, but at the same time, you have to give credit to Galesburg. They’re dominant with their bigs and their point guard. They made us feel uncomfortable tonight,” Vasquez said. “We’re just moving on because everything is better when you’re making shots, and we weren’t making shots tonight.”

Besides Klaver, JP Schilling was the only other Sterling player who finished with double digits; the junior point guard chipped in 12 points.

Senior post Koen Derry finished with 22 points and nine rebounds for the Streaks (19-5, 5-4), while senior Dre Egipciaco chipped in 17 points and 11 rebounds, and junior Easton Steck added 13 points.

Newman 58, St. Bede 47: The Comets led 16-5 after the opening quarter and 30-15 by halftime in a Three Rivers East win on the road.

Marcus Williams led a balanced effort with 15 points for Newman (14-7, 4-2), which stretched the lead to 46-24 through three quarters. Nolan Britt scored nine, Lucas Simpson added eight, and Alex Wigginton chipped in seven for the Comets, who had nine different players score.

Brendan Pillion finished with 15 points for St. Bede, and Callan Hueneberg had nine.

Monmouth-Roseville 42, Erie-Prophetstown 28: The Panthers lost a Three Rivers West game on the road.

Earlville 49, Amboy 39: The Clippers were outscored 27-19 in the second half in a nonconference loss at home.

Brennan Blaine’s 16 points paced Amboy, while Kyler McNinch scored six, and Tucker Lindenmeyer and Ian Eller both finished with five.

Griffin Cook had 20 points, and Ryan Browder added 19 for Earlville.

Fulton 59, Eastland 40: The Cougars led 14-10 after the opening quarter and 23-21 at halftime, but the Steamers outscored Eastland 14-6 in the third period and 24-11 in the fourth to rally for an NUIC South win in Fulton.

Ethan Price hit four 3-pointers and finished with 18 points, and Jacob Jones scored 16 points for Fulton (20-2, 5-0). Baylen Damhoff added 11 points.

Carsen Heeren hit three 3s and had 15 points for Eastland, while Kellen Henze added 12 points.

Girls basketball

Rock Falls 60, Oregon 27: The Rockets led 20-8 after the first quarter and 37-15 by halftime in a Big Northern Conference win at the Blackhawk Center.

Brooke Howard and Emily Lego scored 10 points each to pace Rock Falls (13-11, 4-3 BNC), and Claire Bickett added nine, as 10 different Rockets scored.

Hadley Lutz had 12 points, and Mariah Drake scored nine for the Hawks (6-17, 0-6).

Amboy 62, Fulton 19: The Clippers led 18-4 after the opening period and 38-11 by halftime, then outscored the Steamers 17-3 in the third quarter for an NUIC South road win.

Olivia Dinges had a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds, and also dished three assists to lead Amboy (15-7, 6-1), while Maeve Larson hit four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points and four assists. Elly Jones added 11 points, five steals and three assists, and Courtney Ortgiesen and Haidyn Zimmerly both scored six points. Olivia Miller grabbed six rebounds for the Clippers.

Kylie Smither’s five points led Fulton, and Lara Bielema and Miraya Pessman scored four each.

Milledgeville 41, AFC 29: The Missiles led throughout – 11-5 through one quarter, 19-12 at halftime, and 29-24 through three periods – in an NUIC South win in Ashton.

Adriana Miller and Rylee Matthews both recorded double-doubles for Milledgeville; Miller had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Matthews finished with 10 points and 12 boards. Olivia Schurman scored eight points, Lily Smith added six points and eight rebounds, and Brooklyn Balsiger also grabbed eight rebounds for the Missiles.

Taylor Jahn’s game-high 17 points paced the Raiders, and Kaelynn Larson hit a pair of 3-pointers for six points.

Eastland 56, Polo 44, OT: The Marcos’ Nicole Boelens hit a tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime, but the Cougars shot 12-for-17 from the free-throw line in the extra period to pull away for an NUIC South win in Lanark.

Chloe Sweitzer had 22 points and four assists for Eastland (10-10, 6-1), while Addison Burkholder finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, and Delana Erbsen added 11 points and seven rebounds. Quinc Haverland had five points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals, Sarah Kempel added four points and six boards, and Annika Myre chipped in five steals and two assists for the Cougars, who rallied from a 23-16 halftime deficit, then outscored the Marcos 14-2 in overtime.

Boelens had 12 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists for Polo, and Lindee Poper scored 11 points. Kadence Sheaffer had seven points, three rebounds and two assists, and Natalie Nelson chipped in six points, five assists and four rebounds. Bekah Zeigler had four points and four rebounds for the Marcos, who jumped out to a 15-7 lead in the first quarter.

West Carroll 56, East Dubuque 40: The Thunder led 29-13 by halftime and 46-24 through three quarters in an NUIC West win on the road.

Tori Moshure poured in 32 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and nabbed three steals for West Carroll (13-11, 3-2), and Kylie Hill added 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and 11 steals before leaving with an ankle injury early in the fourth quarter.

Anna Berryman scored 25 points to lead East Dubuque.

Faith Christian 59, Morningstar Christian 37: The Falcons rolled to an NICC victory, led by Gwen Hodson’s double-double.

Hodson had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Rachel Barrett added 16 points, six rebounds and four steals for Faith Christian. Katelyn Fassler finished with nine points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists, and Ella McFalls and Addison Friese scored seven points apiece.

Tatianna Day scored 11 points, and Annabella VonMuenster added nine for Morningstar.

Girls bowling

Dixon 2,857, Erie-Prophetstown 1,960: Grace DeBord, Tianna Bryson and Leslie Pettorini broke the 500-pin mark with series of 518, 514 and 514 to power the Duchesses to a win at Plum Hollow.

DeBord had a 223 game, and Bryson had a 215 game to lead Dixon. Autumn Swift rolled a 466, Abby Tate finished with a 437, and Olivia Gingras bowled a 408 to complete the Duchesses’ lineup.

Naudia Ritemon and Kholee Rangel led Erie-Prophetstown with series of 378 and 365. Ysabell Hamm bowled a 326 and Hannah Neumiller bowled a 287, while Gwyn Wickes finished with a 248.

Rock Island 3,031, Sterling 2,301: Hannah Conderman led the Golden Warriors with a 446 series, but it wasn’t enough as they fell to the Rocks at Milan.

Katelynn Garcia finished with a 434 series, Emily Doss bowled a 413, and Kailynn Wickham bowled a 370. Brendy Gatica and Hannah Johnson rolled 333 and 305 series for Sterling.

Carli Gordon bowled a 591 series, Bailey Hecker bowled a 544, and Makenzie Terry bowled a 511 to lead Rock Island.

Wrestling

Rockridge 49, Erie-Prophetstown 27: The Panthers won five matches, including two by forfeit, in a loss to the Rockets.

At 195, Andrew Bomleny pinned Jeremy Vargus in 1:05; at 220, Nick Ballard pinned Connor Shaffer in 3:12; and at 285, Elijah Friedrichsen defeated Sam Buser 2-1.

Erie-Prophetstown 66, Putnam County/Hall 3: The Panthers took advantage of a short-handed Putnam County/Hall, winning 10 matches by forfeit.

Bryce Folsom (195) picked up a pin of Elijah Leota in 1:11.

Dakota 46, Oregon 24: The Hawks won three contested matches in a loss to Dakota.

At 138, Seth Stevens defeated Jason Bowers 8-1; at 160, Gabe Eckerd defeated Adrian Arellona 6-3; and at 285, Evan Flaharty pinned Dom Orto in 1:18.

Boys swimming

Byron 87, Guilford 72: Carson Faley and Levi Schamper were both part of four wins as the Tier Sharks defeated Rockford Guilford in a dual.

Faley won the 50 freestyle (22.92 seconds) and 100 breaststroke (1:05.21), and Schamper won the 200 IM (2:12.12) and 100 backstroke (1:00.50). The two teamed with Nathan Bell and Tyson Politsch to win both the 200 medley relay (1:47.69) and the 200 freestyle relay (1:34.97).

Politsch won the 100 butterfly (56.56) and took second in the 50 free (23.52), and Bell won the 1-meter diving competition (132.60) and placed second in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.18).

• Matthew Wheaton contributed to this story.