Jets vs. Giltner in Class D2-1 District Finals
March 4, 2010

HEADING BACK!  Jets capture District crown, head to state tournament

Sterling used a 15 for 15 performance from the free throw line in the 2nd half to hold off Giltner in the D2-1 District championship game 60-55 last Tuesday night at Wilber-Clatonia High School.
With the win, Sterling qualifies for the Class D-2 state basketball tournament in Lincoln March 11-13.  The Jets will defend their title against Hayes Center, Thursday night at 8:45pm at Lincoln Northeast.
The Jets iced the game down the stretch as senior guard Jese Salberg connected on four free throws and Jake Wirthele knocked down two to give Sterling the championship.
An 11-0 run to start the second half looked like it would give the Jets a nice cushion, but Giltner used a 20-2 run the last five minutes of the third quarter to give them a 42-38 lead.
Wirthele converted a three point play to start the fourth quarter, which saw a battle back and forth between the two teams.  Zach Lempka’s three point play with less than three minutes to go put Sterling up for good at 54-51.
Head coach Jimmy Motz was proud of his team’s effort to bounce back after a rough third quarter.
“Our backs were against the wall and it didn’t look good” said Motz.  “The kids responded and didn’t give in.  We made some huge plays and hit our free throws.  We’ve been snake bit all year because of those things, but we made the plays.  I am happy for our kids because they earned it.  Nothing was given to them easy this year.”
Another area which Motz was happy with was turnovers.  Sterling only committed 10 turnovers in the game to Giltner’s 19.  
“We controlled the tempo defensively and they had some unforced turnovers which we capitalized on” said Motz.  “We valued possession and got looks at the basket.”
Wirthele led the Jets with a game high 22 points, while adding 3 rebounds and 3 steals to his game line.  Salberg scored 9 points, while Connor Malone had 8 and Lempka had 7 points.  Salberg, Malone, Lempka and John Parrish all had 3 assists in the win.
The Jets find themselves back at the state tournament and Motz couldn’t be more excited for this group.
“The kids worked for this opportunity all year long and they’ve been rewarded with it.  I am happy for the seniors because they wanted to get back to the state tournament.  This will be something they’ll remember for the rest of their life.”

              1   2    3   4    F
Sterling  13 12  13  20  60
Giltner   13  9   20  13  55
S- Salberg 9, Wirthele 22, Magill 6, Heusman 6, Malone 8, Lempka 7, J. Parrish 2