SC Kansas News

Warrior Men Suffer First Loss In Nearly Two Weeks

Sterling's hot streak has been slowed down as they fell to the York University Panthers 86-65 on Monday night. Sterling was a winner of three in a row coming into the game against the Panthers.

It was a great battle between two evenly matched teams as Sterling College (12-8, 8-6) tried to get the season sweep over the York University Panthers (10-10, 8-6). Sterling led by as many 8 points and trailed by as many as 6 points in the first half. It took the Warriors five minutes to gain a lead they were able to build on. It took a 7-0 run to give Sterling a four point lead early. Then it was back-to-back threes by Taron Batie and Erik Smith that opened it up for the Warriors, giving them an 8 point lead. Sterling consistently held a five point lead over the next 6 minutes before the Panthers closed the first half on a 13-5 run. York took a slim 34-31 lead into the break. Neither team shot exceptionally well in the first half with both teams coming in below 40%.

York extended their halftime lead to 9 quickly in the second half, and it stayed there for ten minutes in the second half. Sterling didn't seem to have an answer to the Panther's hot shooting down the stretch. York shot almost 65% from the field in the last twenty minutes and opened up a 26 point lead with just 2 minutes to play in regulation. Scoring on their last few possessions, Sterling was able to cut the lead to 21 before play ended. There were two 3 minute stretches in the second half that Sterling could not find the basket and York was able to extend their lead and eventually put the game away.

Lucas Briar and Taron Batie were the only Warriors in double figures scoring 11 points each. Elias Ngoga led Sterling with 8 rebounds and Kavonte Kinney and Chris Drake each had 5. Sterling shot 36% for the game compared to York's 51%.

Sterling returns to action on Thursday, January 26, at 8 pm against #4 Southwestern College. Southwestern has been struggling of late, losing three of four before beating Saint Mary on Monday night. The game will be played in the Gleason Center in Sterling.

Be sure to check for news and updates on Sterling Warrior Athletics on Facebook (/SCWarriors), Twitter (@SterlingCSports), and Instagram (sterlingcsports), as well as the hashtag #SwordsUp. Watch the Warriors' live home events on the Sterling College Sports Network.

Original source can be found here