Despite turning the ball over 30 times, Steeleville notched its first opening day win since the 2004-2005 season with a 66-53 victory over Sparta.
“We should be a team that takes care of the ball but we threw it all over the gym tonight,” said Steeleville coach Gerald Mumbower. “I think first game jitters had something to do with it.”
The Warriors had four players reach double digits in scoring as Torrey Gerberding led the way with 18 points followed by Andrew Pokrzywinski and Colin Smith with 11 each and Coire Reel added 10. Darin Winkelman came off the bench to score eight for Steeleville.
“We played good defense and did a nice job on the Kiner kid keeping him off the boards,” said Mumbower. “Darin gave us a big lift off the bench and Colin really played hard. We are a shooting team and when we get open looks, we have to take those shots. Tonight, those shots were falling. Torrey got into a nice rhythm and made some big shots for us. Its good to get the season started with a win.”
The Warriors grabbed the game’s momentum right from the start, as Gerberding nailed two three-pointers in the opening quarter to lead his team to a 14-6 advantage.
Sparta was just 3-of-12 from the floor in the opening quarter and had only one offensive rebound. However, Steeleville turned the ball over seven times in the first period to keep the Bulldogs in the game.
Steeleville pushed its lead to double digits, 28-18, at halftime by outscoring Sparta 14-12 in the quarter. The Warriors had five different players score points in the frame, while Sparta got eight points from Weslen Kiner and a big four-point play from Jordan Thompson.
Thompson made two quick three-point shots to start the third quarter, as his team came within seven points. But, Sparta would miss seven of its next eight shots, and Steeleville would push the lead back to double digits, 46-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
Thompson had eight points in the third quarter, but Steeleville made 8-of-15 shots in the period as Gerberding added two more three-pointers and Reel and Smith each had two baskets.
In the fourth quarter, Sparta used its speed and full-court pressure defense to force Steeleville into numerous turnovers which led to a 5-0 run. That run cut Steeleville’s lead to 51-43 with 5:22 left in the game.
The Bulldogs continued to battle in the final quarter, and after a three-pointer by Trevor Morgan, Sparta trailed only 58-53 with 1:27 remaining.
However, that would be as close as the Dawgs would come.
Steeleville ended the game with an 8-0 run for the 66-53 win. The Warriors were  9-of-13 from the foul line during that stretch.
“You have to give Steeleville credit,” said Sparta coach Rich Williams. “They out-played us, out-coached us and out-hustled us. They were the better ball club tonight. One thing we learned, is that this team will fight till the end. Steeleville could have blown us away at a couple of points, but the kids hung in there and fought. Steeleville is a good team. They have a lot of kids back and they have more experience and it showed at times tonight. We just have to try and get better, we have a lot of potential.”
With the win, Steeleville improved to 1-0 on the season.
Sparta dropped to 1-1 overall with the defeat. Kiner finished with 18 points to pace the Bulldogs, while London Oliver and Thompson each had 13.