Basketball Recap: Sterling's Run of Seven Straight Victories Now Over

After a string of seven wins, Sterling's good fortune finally ran out on Saturday. They fell to the Spring Woods Tigers 49-45. Sadly, that's the second time they've come up short against the Raiders this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 69-61 back in December of 2024.

Sterling's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Braylon Peterson, who went 7 of 13 en route to 14 points along with six rebounds and three steals, and Braydon Hughes, who posted 15 points in addition to six boards and three steals. Hughes' morning made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Tristan August was another key player, putting up ten points and six rebounds.

Even though they lost, Sterling smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.

Tavionn Pickens was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 14 points and 19 boards for Spring Woods. The dominant performance also gave Pickens a new career-high in blocks (four). Another player making a difference was Trae Pickens, who almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine rebounds.

Sterling's defeat ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 12-13. As for Spring Woods, the victory (which was their eighth in a row) raised their record to 20-7.

Sterling wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next matchup, a 76-66 win against Waltrip on the 3rd. Spring Woods has also already played their next game, a 76-36 victory against Milby on the 4th.