Jets Lose in Sub-District Games
February 19 & 21, 2008
By Jimmy Motz
February 26, 2008
JETS LOSE IN SUB-DISTRICT FINAL, END YEAR 15-8
Falls City Sacred Heart’s hot shooting, and a cold shooting second quarter for Sterling was the difference as the 22-2 Irish defeated Sterling 62-48 last Thursday night in the D2-1 sub-district final at Johnson County Central Junior High.
The Jets couldn’t overcome a 14-0 run in the second quarter by the Irish, where Bryce Ebel scored 10 straight points. Down 20-19 with five minutes in the half, Ebel connected on two three pointers and two layups to expand the lead to 30-19. Sacred Heart never looked back as the Jets managed to close the gap late to 40-32 in the third quarter.
After a well played first quarter, where the score was 17-15, Sterling just managed seven points in the second quarter.
“Against a team like Sacred Heart, you have to limit their opportunities and we didn’t and they took advantage of it” said head coach Jimmy Motz. “Pokorny and Ebel got going for them and they shot the ball really well. Those two guys stepped up when they needed too and provided them with scoring all night.”
For the game, Jake Saathoff led the Jets with 13 points. Sophomore Zach Lempka had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the game, while Jese Salberg chipped in 8. For the contest, the Jets shot the ball 18 of 41 from the field.
Caleb Pokorny led all scorers with 22 points, while Ebel pitched in 15. Sacred Heart advanced and has already qualified for the state tournament, via wildcard or district championship. The Jets ended the year 15-8, its first winning season since 2001.
Looking back on the year, Sterling won the MUDECAS B Division championship, took first place in the Parkview Christian Holiday Tournament, and finished 4th in the Pioneer Conference Tournament.
“We had an excellent year. As a group and staff, we accomplished many of our goals and played really well all year long. We have a foundation established to build from, now we have to continue to get better as individuals and as a team to where we want to get too. I think our kids understand what it is going to take to get to the next level and put ourselves in the hunt to play for something come next March” Motz said.
Sterling 15 7 11 15 48
FCSH 17 18 12 15 62
S- Salberg 8, J. Wirthele 5, Nieveen 3, Saathoff 13, W. Wirthele 4, Lempka 11, Thiel 2, Boyer-Sears 2
FCSH- Huppert 2, Pokorny 22, Vonderschmidt 4, Santo 9, Huppert 4, Ebel 15, Meyer 6
PARKVIEW CHRISTIAN
Jake Wirthele proved that the future of Sterling Boys basketball looks pretty good. The 5-8 freshman guard came off the bench to hit four 3s in the first half and help the Jets to a 28-point 2nd quarter on their way to a 66-44 win over Parkview Christian in the D2 Subdistrict 1 tournament semifinal.
“Jake showed what he is capable of doing” Motz said. “He gave us a lift off the bench and got us going offensively. He’s really stepped up here in the last part of the season, and he was big for us in this game. It was good to see him step up and hit some shots.”
Wirthele scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half, a pivotal point in the game for Sterling, who led 11-8 after the first quarter. That's after both teams didn't score until 2 minutes into the game, when 6-3 sophomore forward Jordan Tyrance hit a bucket for Parkview. Sterling found themselves on a 6-0 behind Zach Lempka and William Wirthele before Parkview bounced back behind Jordan Tyrance and closed the gap at 11-10 early on in the 2nd quarter.
Jake Wirthele nailed a three that sparked a 8-0 run halfway through the 2nd and would hit three more during another run, while 6-5 sophomore center Zach Lempka and 6-2 forward D.J. Thiel got open shots near the basket to put Sterling up 39-25 at halftime.
The Jets picked up where they left off by going on an 18-3 run in the 3rd to lead 57-28 heading to the 4th quarter. In the final period, the dogs had been called off about halfway through and Sterling's reserves managed to fend off Parkview, despite the Patriots outscoring the Jets 16-9 behind Phil Randall and reserve August Pena.
“We guarded as well as we did all season long in that 12 minutes stretch in the 2nd half” said Motz. “We mixed defenses up on them and gave them different looks with our press. It was very effective in what we were trying to do and we took them out of their offense. Jake Saathoff, Devin Heusman and Kyle Lowmack did a tremendous job on Tyrance.”
Lempka led all scorers with 20 points for Sterling and guard Jese Salberg finished with 10 points. Tyrance fouled out with 18 points for Parkview, who finishes the season at 7-13, and Randall added 13 points for the Patriots.
Sterling 11 28 18 9 66
Parkview 8 17 3 16 44
S- Salberg 10, J. Wirthele 16, Saathoff 5, W. Wirthele 6, D. Heusman 2, Lowmack 2, Lempka 20, Thiel 5
PC- Grone 2, Smith 2, P. Tyrance 1, Branding 4, Randall 12, J. Tyrance 18, Pena 4
