The Sterling Tigers had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 29.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They came out on top against University by a score of 58-48. Winning is a bit easier when you work as a team to rack up 11 more assists than your opponent, as Sterling did.
Leading Sterling to victory were Ethan Thyne and Colin Linn. Thyne almost dropped a triple-double on 14 points, ten rebounds, and nine assists, while Linn scored 18 points along with six rebounds. That's the first time this season that Thyne posted eight or more assists. Another player making a difference was Wesley Knuppel, who scored six points along with eight rebounds.
Several Bulldogs players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Andrew Cordova, who scored 14 points along with five steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Coehn Nitzel, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Sterling pushed their record up to 8-3 with that victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.0 points per game. As for University, they have traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost seven of their last nine games, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-10 record this season.
Sterling will challenge Resurrection Christian at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. One thing working in Resurrection Christian's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last five games. As for University, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Valley at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Valley has now lost eight straight, and the team is hunting for their first win since December 8.
