Courtesy of Midland Athletics
STERLING, Kan. — Midland University traveled to Sterling, Kansas, to face Sterling College in a nonconference game on Wednesday night. The Warriors stayed in control from start to finish with sharp shooting to earn their first win of the season, 98-77.
Sterling opened the game with back-to-back baskets to take a 6-3 lead before Trey McCainhit a three-pointer. Jeff Rozelle III followed with back-to-back threes to spark a 9-0 run that gave Midland a 12-6 lead. Sterling added a free throw, but McCain responded with a layup to make it 14-7 at the first media timeout.
After the short break, both teams traded baskets as Sterling cut the deficit to three, 20-17. Out of the timeout, Jake Orr extended the lead with a personal 6-0 run to make it 26-17. Sterling kept the game close with several three-pointers, but Midland held a 33-28 advantage after a pair of timeouts. Rozelle III then sparked another 4-0 run, and Midland closed the half strong with a 7-0 stretch featuring baskets from Cole Petersen, Orr, and a three-pointer from Amari Rahaman to take a 46-35 lead at halftime.
After the intermission, Nick Dolezal opened the second half with a layup before Sterling responded with a 5-0 run. Dolezal and Orr answered with back-to-back baskets to push the lead to 52-41. Butch Lordeus drained a three-pointer to extend the advantage to 57-41, and the Warriors kept their momentum rolling with multiple scoring bursts.
Rahaman and Petersen combined for another run midway through the half as Midland continued to dominate both ends of the court, leading 75-51 with 10 minutes remaining. Anthony Simon added a layup and free throw, followed by a Lordeus basket, to make it 80-54. The Warriors continued to trade points down the stretch and sealed the 98-77 victory.
Midland shot 39-of-57 (68.4%) from the field compared to Sterling’s 28-of-67 (41.8%). The Warriors hit 12-of-19 (63.2%) from beyond the arc and went 8-of-10 (80%) from the free-throw line. Midland also outrebounded Sterling 30-25.
Orr led the team with 17 points, followed by Dolezal with 16. Rozelle III and Petersen added 12 points each, while Lordeus and McCain with 10 points each.
“The guys played well,” said head coach Tyler Erwin. “I thought we did some really good things defensively, especially in the first half. We got a ton of deflections that led to transition baskets.
In our first three games we’ve had good looks but didn’t make shots — tonight, we made shots. I thought Amari, Cole, and Jake played really well offensively. We had a team-high 18 assists, and our point guard play was really good between Trey and Amari.”
Midland (1-3) returns home to open Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) play against Morningside University on Saturday, Nov. 15. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. inside the Wikert Event Center for Alumni Day.
