Men's Basketball News
Warrior Wood & Wedge Golf Tournament set for June 23, 2008
The Warrior Athletic Association announced that the Warrior
Wood & Wedge golf tournament will once again be held again at the Highlands
Golf Club in
The Warrior Athletic Association is designed to advance
Sterling sponsors sixteen varsity sports including football,
men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s
and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s track & field
and men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis and dance and cheer.
Cost for this tournament in $110 per person. You may sign up individually or you may sign up as a foursome. Fee includes lunch, cart, and green fees.
More information can be found at the www.sterling.edu/atletics/warrior-athletic-association or by calling Dean Jaderston at 620-278-4277.
2008 Golf Tournament Registration .pdf
Four players named to the All-KCAC Basketball Teams
Four Sterling College men’s basketball players have been named to the All-KCAC Teams chosen by the conference coaches and announced at the conclusion 2007-2008 season.
Shane Stover was Sterling’s lone First Team All-KCAC selection and was named to the All-KCAC Defensive Team, while Jonathon Woods earned Honorable Mention All-KCAC honors. Freshman duo Zach Goodrich and Cody Brazelton were named the All-KCAC All-Freshman Team.
Stover (6-3, F, Sr., Colby, KS.) was named to the All-KCAC First Team after earning a spot on the All-Defensive last season. Stover averaged 7.1 points per game and led Sterling in steals (1.93) this past season and was second on the team in rebounding (4.5). He also led the team in three point goal percentage at 37%.
“Shane is one of those players who does all the little things that never show up on the stat sheet but coaches understand how important they are to a team,” said Head Coach Dean Jaderston. “Shane is the ultimate team player, and to be named one of the top 10 players in the conference is a great honor. To be named to the all-defensive team two years running also shows how valuable he was on both sides of the court. His ability to guard post or perimeter players demonstrated his versatility he probably took more charges in the last two years than any player in Sterling history.”
Woods (6-10, C, Jr., San Antonio, Tex.) was named Honorable Mention All-KCAC this season for the second straight season. Woods finished the regular season averaging 7.8 points to led the Warriors and the KCAC in rebounding with 7.3 per game overall. He was #11 in the NAIA in block shots per game with 2.06 per game.
“Jonathan was at the top of the conference in both blocks and rebounds, and his presence allowed us to provide the ball pressure we needed defensively, “said Jaderston. “He definitely changed games this season, and he should be a contender for first team next year.”
Goodrich (5’6, G, Fr., Tahlequah, OK.) was named to the All-KCAC Freshman Team in his first season with the Warriors. He averaged 5.3 points per game overall. He was second on the team this season in three point goal percentage at 37%. He also averaged 2.45 assists per game overall and 1.14 steals per game.
Brazelton (6’6, F, Fr., Tuttle, OK.) was also named to the All-KCAC Freshman Team in his first season with the Warriors. Brazelton averaged 6.2 points per game and 3.4 rebounds this season and was second on the team in block shots with fifteen.
Coach Jaderston had this to say about the two freshman. “To have two players named to the all-freshman team is a big deal. Usually, only 1 player per team will make it and for both to receive the honor speaks volumes about both their performance and consistency as freshmen. In many games this year they were our most productive players, and we expect even bigger things from them in the future.”
Sterling finished the season 16-13 overall after playing a very competitive non –conference schedule. Sterling finished KCAC play in fifth place at 11-7 and lost to Southwestern College in the quarterfinals of the KCAC Tournament 56-59.
Men’s basketball drops two and falls to fifth in the KCAC
On Thursday, the Warriors struggled shooting from the field and found themselves trailing by ten points 24-34 at halftime. In the second half, the Warriors mounted a great come back in the end but came up short falling to the Blue Jays 60-64.
Junior Jonathan Woods led the Warriors with twelve points and eight rebounds and Chad Friess chipped in ten points and three assist.
On Saturday, the Warriors were in a must win situation to earn a chance at a second place seeding in the upcoming tournament. But Bethany put together it's best half of the season and held off the Sterling Warriors 92-85 in the regular season finale for both teams Saturday night in Hahn Gym.
The Swedes roared out to a 55-31 lead by intermission, and saw their lead dwindle down to two in the final minute as the Warriors rallied with a vengeance in the second period.
But, Sterling's best chances to catch up fell by the wayside when the Warriors failed to convert at the charity stripe.
The Swedes' big lead was nothing but a memory when Mac Stephenson dropped a drive high off the glass and through the net with 59 seconds left, trimming it to two, 84-82.
Roddrick Williams converted a foul shot and Justin Holcom's put-back of his miss on the second extended Bethany back to a five point bulge with 43 seconds left.
Sterling's best chance to finally draw even came just eight seconds later when C.J. Littlejohn fouled Tony Stewart on a 3-point shot and was hit with a technical.
Zach Goodrich hit one of the two T's and Stewart could make only one of his three as the Warrior fell to the Swedes.
Sterling forced Bethany into 21 turnovers for the game, 14 in the second half.
Zach Goodrich and Stephenson each scored 14 to lead the Warriors. Chad Friess and Johar Moss each tallied 12.
(Photo's courtesy of Grayson Graves)
Men's Basketball travels to Southwestern in first round of tournament Thursday
All seeds are based on regular-season records and standings, with tie-breaker procedures applied.
Again this year in each of the two ten-team tournaments (one division each for men and women), four "play-in" games will be on Monday (February 19) for the bottom four teams in each division. Play-in games for the men will be at Tabor College and Bethany College, and for the women will be at Bethel College and Ottawa University — all at 7 p.m.
In the women's division, quarterfinals are Wednesday (Feb. 27), semifinals will be Saturday, March 1 at 2 p.m., and the women's tournament championship game will be played Monday (March 3).
In the men's tournament the final eight teams will play in quarterfinals on Thursday (Feb. 28), with semifinals on Saturday, March 1, at 7 p.m., and the tournament championship game will be Tuesday (March 4).
All tipoff times are 7 p.m., except as announced for Saturday, and all tournament games are at campus sites of higher seeded teams unless otherwise announced.
Seedings are based on final regular-season standings of the KCAC Conference. The KCAC has 10 institutional members, so two men's and two women's teams will advance to national championship tournaments of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics division two. In each division both the post-season tournament winner and the highest seeded team not winning the conference tournament will advance to the NAIA national championship tournament.
The NAIA-II 17th Annual Men's National Championship Tournament will be March 12-18 at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout (Branson), Missouri. The NAIA-II 17th Annual Women's National Championship Tournament will be March 12-18 at Sioux City, Iowa (Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena).
The KCAC continues to be the only all-Kansas intercollegiate conference of the state's four-year colleges and universities.
More NAIA information is on the Internet at , and at .
In regular-season, Ottawa University "Braves" won the KCAC men's championship, and the Sterling College "Lady Warriors" won the KCAC women's championship.
The KCAC 2008 Brackets
The following are the two brackets for the two KCAC Conference Post-season Basketball Tournaments (men's and women's), of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. For update information on a continuing basis, see the website www.kcacsports.com, contact the respective host school, or telephone to the KCAC recorded hotline 785-227-2857.
Warriors come off of Rough Weekend to Beat Central Christian
The Warriors after dropping 3 straight to #4 ranked Bellevue University over the weekend put enough runs on the board for the win despite continued struggles defensively.
"We just haven't settled into a rhythmm defensively. We are very vulnerable there right now and have to work harder to shore our play in the field up," remarked Hamilton whose win Tuesday was against his previous school.
The Warriors will hope to outlast the weather for upcoming games as Friday's game has already been postponed because of forecast and field conditions in Manhattan leaving Saturday to host Midland Lutheran from Nebraska.
The games are slated to begin at 1pm.
Woods and Brazelton lead Warriors past Kansas Wesleyan
Salina Journal
STERLING — The Kansas Conference's best defensive team also wasn't bad offensively Saturday night.
Sterling's defense, which entered the game allowing a KCAC-best 60.8 points per game, put the clamps on Kansas Wesleyan's offense and used its size advantage en route to a 69-55 victory Saturday night at the Gleason Center.
Sterling moves into a tie for second place with Wesleyan in the KCAC standings with a 11-5 records, two games back of league leader Ottawa, a 78-72
overtime winner over McPherson on Saturday. KWU falls to 13-12 overall with its second loss in three games. Sterling improves to 16-10.
Sterling held Wesleyan to 28.6 percent shooting for the game (16 of 56) and won the rebounding battle 40-31 thanks to the Warriors' two big men, 6-foot-10
center Jonathan Woods and 6-6 forward Cody Brazelton. Woods had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Brazelton 10 points and 10 rebounds.
"Our big (guys) were huge tonight," Sterling coach Dean Jaderston said. "They started small against us,
and we'd have a hard time chasing their small (guys). If somebody goes small against us, we have to make them pay in the paint. We have to get the ball down
low, make their little guys guard our big guys, and hit the boards."I thought our two bigs really responded tonight. They played hard, played smart and played above the rim when we needed them to."
Wesleyan never could get over the hump after falling behind in the first half. The Coyotes trailed 31-28 at halftime and got within two, 46-44, with just less
than 8 minutes left, but no closer.
Trailing 54-50 with 5 minutes remaining, Sterling scored five straight points and led 59-50 with 2:25 left and Wesleyan never got closer than eight the rest
of the way.
"They're long, and they're big," KWU coach Mike Davert said. "They sloughed off of a couple of our players who aren't 3-point threats and clogged the middle, and that makes it hard to drive.
"They killed us on the boards. Numerous times we had them stopped, and they'd get an offensive board." Davert agreed that Sterling's defense played a key role."They wore us down offensively," he said. "Defensively, we weren't quite able to finish some possessions, and they hit some big shots."
Wesleyan was led by Trey Sims, who scored 16 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Eric Hammond added 13 on 3-of-10
shooting. Mike Henderson, the team's second-leading scorer, had five on 2 of 9 from the field.
"Our guys take a lot of pride in our defense," Jaderston said. "We're not an offensive power, and it's a mission for our guys. They're checking the scoreboard with 2 minutes go, 'Hey, we can hold another team under 60.' It's not about steals, it's about getting in guys' faces and contesting every shot
and then getting those boards."
Shane Stover led Sterling with 15 points — 10 in the final 4:45 of the game, including a 3-pointer that banked in with 2:25 left that made it 59-50 and effectively sealed the deal.
"I think the guys played hard," Davert said. "We didn't always play smart, and we didn't always play together. But we did play hard."
An 11-2 Sterling rally, fueled by Jamaal Mondaine, gave the Warriors a 29-20 lead with 4 minutes left before half. Mondaine scored all nine of his points in
a row after Woods started things with a basket inside 7:55 left in the half that snapped an 18-18 tie. The Coyotes scored just two points from the 9:18 mark
of the first half until 3:57 was left.
Wesleyan battled back, outscoring Sterling 11-2 the rest of the half and trailed 31-28 at halftime. Hammond led the charge with five points, including a
three-point play with 3.2 seconds before the break.
Sterling plays Tabor on Thursday in Hillsboro, starting with the women's game at 6 p.m., followed by the men at about 8.
Warriors secure third in KCAC competition
The Sterling College Warrior basketball team improved to 15-10 overall and 10-5 in KCAC competition after a 73-60 home victory over the Bethel College Threshers. Tonight's win secured the Warriors third place in KCAC, breaking a three-way tie with Southwestern College and Friends College.
Bethel entered the contest with an 8-15 season record and 5-9 in conference. Home court advantage offered the Warriors momentum to comeback from their most recent battle against Bethel which ended in a 52-61 defeat.
Sterling entered halftime with a 35-31 lead over Bethel, who put up a solid defense against the Warriors. However, Sterling remained focused throughout the game, outshooting Bethel in the second half and holding onto a steady lead.
Freshman Cody Brazelton tallied 15 point followed closely by junior Mac Stephenson with 14 and senior Jamaal Mondaine with 11. Senior Shane Stover led the Warriors with 8 rebounds for the evening, while Stephenson and sophomore Chad Friess contributed 4 steals a piece.
Bethel was led in scoring by Matt Regier and Jordan Regehr each with 16 points a piece.
SC shot 23/53 from the field (42%) and 6/14 from the three point line (43%). Sterling is currently third in conference just behind Ottawa University (12-3) and Kansas Wesleyan University (11-4).
The Warriors host their next conference opponent this Saturday, Feb. 16, as they take on the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. Sterling will honor their seven seniors prior to the game.
Warriors drop two games but still tied for third
On Thursday, the Warriors were held to six field goals in first half and shot a dismal 20% from the field as Ottawa took a 34-15 lead into halftime. In the second half, the Warriors finally got things going with eight minutes to play when they cut the lead to nine but Ottawa responded with a Matt Green three pointer and pushed the lead back to eleven. Sterling was unable to get any closer as they dropped their fourth KCAC game of the season.
The Warriors were led in scoring by junior Jonathan Woods with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Mac Stephenson added thirteen points towards the cause.
On Saturday, the Warriors started much better and trailed only by five at halftime. But both teams struggled shooting in the first half shooting 31%. In the second half, the Warriors outscored Southwestern 28-25 but could not get over the hump and eventually fell 48-46.
Sterling was led in scoring by Chad Friess with 20 points.
Despite dropping both games Sterling is still tied for third place with Southwestern and Friends University. Sterling (14-10, 9-5) will host Bethel College on Thursday and Kansas Wesleyan University on Saturday. Sterling will be honoring their seven seniors prior to the game against KWU.
(Photo's courtesy of Grayson Graves)
Woods and Friess lead Warriors over Saint Mary and Friends University
The Warrior Basketball team picked up two important wins this past week and remain tied for first in KCAC play. Sterling won there first game of the week beating the University of Saint Mary 60-43. Sterling then beat Friends University 69-56.
On Thursday, Sterling struggled from the field in the first half shooting 7 for 30 from the field for 23.3% in the first half. Sterling rallied back in the second half to out score the Spires by sixteen and shot 57% from the field.
Sterling had three players in double figures, Jammal Mondaine and Johnathan Woods had thirteen and Shane Stover had eleven.
On Saturday, the Warriors first half shooting woes continued shooting 37% from the field. But like Thursday the Warriors came out in the second half on fire. The Warriors shot a blistering 70% from the field and were led by Chad Friess's career high 24 points.
Freshman Zach Goodrich and Cody Brazelton chipped in twelve and eleven points to help lead the Warrior offense.
Sterling (14-8, 9-3) are currently tied for first place in the KCAC with Kansas Wesleyan University. The Warriors will travel to Ottawa University on Thursday and then to Southwestern on Saturday.
Photo's Courtesy of Grayson Graves (Tony Stewart)
Poor shooting results in loss for the Warriors
The Sterling College men's basketball team suffered their third KCAC loss of the season Saturday night at McPherson College 50-63.
Sterling started the game out leading 3-0 after Mac Stephenson hit a three pointer to start off the game, but that was the largest lead the Warriors would be able to garner on the night. McPherson built their lead to eight with 8:41 left in the half off a three pointer from McPherson's Jorge Espino. The Warriors were able to take the lead back with fifty-three seconds left in the half off Shane Stover's layup but Espino responded with another three pointer that gave the Bulldogs the two point advantage at intermission 31-29.
In the second half, the Warriors shooting woes were at an all-time low. McPherson went on an 11-3 run to start the second half the Warriors were 0-8 from the field during that stretch. Sterling did cut the lead to five with 6:57 to play when Stephenson found Cody Brazelton for a lay-up to bring the score to 51-46, but would the closest they could get.
Sterling had three players finish the game with nine points, Stephenson, Brazelton and Tony Stewart. SC was 8-35 from the field in the second half and 18 for 63 (28.6%) for the game. The Warriors did out rebound the Bulldogs by four and committed less turnovers.
Despite losing Sterling (12-8, 7-3) still remains in a five-way tie for first place with Friends, Kansas Wesleyan, Ottawa, and Southwestern. Sterling will play the University of Saint Mary on Thursday night and Friends come to the Gleason Center on Saturday.