Steeleville gave its home fans plenty to cheer about Tuesday night with a 74-32 beating of Chester in a nonconference boys basketball matchup.
The Warriors had an excellent shooting night especially from long range where they drained 7 of 11 three-pointers on the night.
“This was really the first game where we shot the ball well,” said Steeleville coach Gerald Mumbower. “We came out ready to go and jumped on them early. We executed well and a really good first two minutes of the first half and a really good last two minutes of the last to really pull away.”
Chester on the other hand couldn’t find its offensive rhythm all night and shot 26 percent from the floor, making just 13 of 50 shots in the loss.
“Our main problem is, we have to learn what our job is out there,” said Chester coach Robert Bell. “When we play good teams, they will exploit us if we don’t do our jobs. We are trying to learn a new system against solid teams, and sometimes the outcome isn’t pretty. It is hard to make steps forward when you don’t see the results. We have to be a tougher team, and I have to do a better job of getting these guys ready to play.”
Steeleville wasted no time on jumping on Chester and taking control of the game. The Warriors scored the game’s first nine points, and led 18-2 before Chester finished the opening quarter with a 6-0 run to trail 20-8.
Colin Smith led the early charge for Steeleville with nine points, while Chester was just 3 of 15 in the opening eight minutes.
Torrey Gerberding, Steeleville’s long-range sharpshooter, came off the bench in the second quarter to score 11 points including three three-pointers, as the Warriors’ lead swelled to 42-17 at the intermission after outscoring Chester 22-9.
“Torrey shot the ball real well tonight,” added Mumbower. “We use him when our offense gets stagnant and his range can really make teams pay.
The Warriors continued to pull away in the third quarter outscoring the Yellow Jackets 16-12 for a 58-29 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Nick Potter led the Steeleville offense with five points in the frame, while Coire Reel added four. Zach Lochhead was Chester’s only consistent offensive performer and had five points in the period.
Steeleville put the game out of reach in the fourth finishing the game with a 16-3 run for the 42-point victory.
Gerberding finished with a game high 14 points. Smith and Potter each had 12 points. Reel added 11, while Andrew Pokrzywinski  had nine and Josh Diercks added eight.
Steeleville improved to 4-3 on the season with the win.
Lochhead had 12 points to lead Chester, while Aaron Grah added seven.
Chester falls to 1-3 overall with the loss.