Sterling Jets Holiday Tournament
December 29 & 30, 2009

Sterling boys jet to tournament title

The five day moratorium didn’t slow down the Sterling boy’s basketball team, as the Jets won the Sterling Holiday Tournament defeating Omaha St. Peter Claver in the first round 82-44, and College View Academy 81-47 in the finals.  With the wins, Sterling improves its record to 7-1 heading into the first week of January.
Head Coach Jimmy Motz was pleased with the effort and contributions his team made and the strides they took over the last couple weeks.
“I felt we got better as a group the last couple weeks” said Motz.  “We had several tremendous efforts from the kids and were getting more and more comfortable with one another on the floor each time we step on it.  It’s showing we keep getting better as a group.”

OMAHA ST. PETER CLAVER
The Jets got out to a fast start, using an 11-2 run to start the game and never looked back in its win over the upstart Trailblazers.  Sterling jumped out to a 26-10 lead after the first quarter, large in part to John Parrish’s scoring outburst.  Parrish scored 8 of his 10 points in the quarter.  He also finished with eight rebounds in the game.
Sterling led 44-19 at halftime and continued its strong effort into the second half.  Klay Heusman scored 14 of his game high 17 points in the second half, knocking down four of his five three point shots in the frame.  Connor Malone off the bench scored 15 points along with six rebounds, while Jake Wirthele and Austin Magill pitched in 9 and 8 points in the win.
Motz was pleased with two of his seniors’ performances.  Zach Lempka had a career high 20 rebounds and Jese Salberg had a season high six assists.
“Zach didn’t have his greatest offensive game scoring, but he grabbed a ton of rebounds” Motz said.  “Jese just keeps getting better everyday and he’s starting to get more comfortable out on the floor.”
The Jets as a team had 22 assists on 30 made field goals in the contest, where the Jets shot 48 percent for the game.
“Our kids play unselfish and make the extra pass” said Motz.  “One thing we’ve done pretty consistently all year is share the basketball.”

COLLEGE VIEW ACADEMY
The Eagles came into the championship game undefeated, but it was the Jets defensive pressure and transition offense which set the tone early on.
Sterling jumped out to a 17-5 lead early on, scoring 10 of its 17 points on transition baskets.  
“We got easy baskets because our guards and bigs ran the floor” said Motz.  “We set the tone of the game, something we haven’t been doing early on in the season.”
Sterling led at the half 33-15, after Colin VanGroningen nailed a three point shot as time expired.  The Jets continued to bust the game open, outscoring College View 27-11 in the third quarter.  
The Jets had five players in double figures, led by Lempka’s 18 points and 11 rebounds.  Malone record 17 points along with three blocked shots, while VanGroningen scored 12 points with seven rebounds.
Jake Wirthele had a solid all-around game scoring 10 points, dishing out eight assists and grabbed five rebounds.  Austin Magill chipped in with 10 points off the bench, and Heusman added 8 points in the win.
Sterling shot the ball 55 percent in the game, and had 21 assists as a team.  
“Our shooting percentages were better because we got some easy transition baskets and we found the open man offensively” Motz said.  “I think our kids are getting more and more confident and comfortable on the floor.  It’s still a work in progress, but we took steps to get to where we want to get too.”

                            1  2   3   4     F
St. Peter Claver  10  9   8  17  44
Sterling               26 18 22 16  82

S- Salberg 3, Wirthele 9, Magill 8, Heusman 17, Benson 9, Malone 15, Lempka 7, Lucas 2, J. Parrish 10, A. Parrish 2

                        1  2   3   4   F
College View   5 10 11 21 47
Sterling          17 16 27 21 81

S- Wirthele 10, Magill 10, Heusman 8, VanGroningen 12, Malone 17, Lempka 18, J. Parrish 2, A. Parrish 4