Sterling Jets VS Diller/Odell at Home
December 7, 2007
By Jimmy Motz
December 13, 2007
JETS COME UP WITH FIRST
WIN ON THE YEAR OVER GRIFFINS
Sterling had four players in double figures, led by Jake
Saathoff's 19 points and 10 rebounds in a 65-54 home win
over Diller-Odell last Friday night at Sterling High School.
Saathoff scored 13 of his
19 points in the fourth quarter and
ignited a 15-2 run which propelled the Jets late in
the ball game. With the score 48-46, the Jets got baskets
by Saathoff, Jese Salberg, and Brandon Nieveen which insured
the victory.
After starting the game
on a 18-4 run, the Griffins rallied
back to cut the lead to 22-11 after one quarter. The teams
played an even second quarter which made the score 34-23 at
half.
"I thought we played as
well as we possibly could in the
first quarter" said Sterling head coach Jimmy Motz. "We
played very unselfish and took care of the basketball. Our
intensity defensively and our execution offensively was
tremendous. We moved the ball really well and made plays
for one another. That’s fun basketball to watch.”
Diller-Odell made it a
game out scoring the Jets 18-10 in
the third quarter, behind the play of Alex Koch and Bryce
Duis. Koch and Duis had 18 and 19 points respectfully.
The Griffins defense in
the second gave the Jets problems,
going diamond and one on Sterling big man Zach Lempka.
Lempka for the game finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds.
"They tried to take Zach
out of the game, and we had some
guys step up and hit some shots" Motz said. "Jese Salberg,
D.J. Thiel and Jake made some plays and came up big for us.
There's no question that those guys stepped up to the plate
and helped us in the win."
Thiel ended up with 13
points, while Salberg chipped in 12.
The Jets for the contest shot 50 percent from the field,
going 29 of 58. The Griffins shot 19 of 60 for the game,
shooting 32 percent.
"Our pressure defensively
gave them some fits. We forced 29
turnovers for the game and our guys did an excellent job of
getting after their guards. Jese and Brandon were
relentless at the defensive end."
Sterling, 1-1 on the young
season, takes on Pawnee City
Friday at home, and hits the road for a 5 game road swing,
starting with Bruning-Davenport Saturday night.
"This coming weekend is
critical for our team. We need to
play well, because we have five games starting Saturday on
the road. We'll have to take care of business Friday night
with a tough opponent. We will get tested here in the next
three weeks."
BOX SCORE 1 2
3 4 F
Diller-Odell 11 12 18 13
54
Sterling
22 12 10 21 65
Sterling- Salberg 5-11 0-0, 12 Nieveen 3-7 0-0, 6
Saathoff 8-12 2-3, 19 Lempka 5-10 0-0, 10 Thiel 6-10 1-3,
13 D. Heusman 0-1 0-0, 0 J. Wirthele 1-5 0-0, 3 W.
Wirthele 1-1 0-0, 2 Lowmack 0-0 0-0, 0 Hunt 0-1 0-0, 0
TOTALS- 29-58 3-6, 65
Diller/Odell- Vitosh 0-3 0-0, 0 Faxon 0-9 1-4, 1 Koch
5-11
5-5, 18 Theye 4-11 2-2, 12 B. Duis 8-17 3-4, 19 Beran 0-0
0-0, 0 J. Duis 1-4 0-0, 2 Thorp 1-5 0-2, 2 Spratt 0-0
0-2, 0 TOTALS- 19-60 11-19, 54
THREE POINT FG'S- Sterling 4-13 (Salberg 2-5, Nieveen 0-1,
Saathoff 1-2, Lempka 0-1, J. Wirthele 1-4) Diller/Odell 5-22
(Vitosh 0-3, Faxon 0-4, Koch 3-6, Theye 2-5, J. Duis 0-1,
Thorp 0-3) REBOUNDS- Sterling 29 (Saathoff 10, Lempka 6)
Diller/Odell 25 (B. Duis 7, Koch 5) TURNOVERS- Sterling 24,
Diller Odell 29 FOULS- Sterling 20, Diller/Odell 12
