STERLING 66, CENTRAL PLAINS 48 —  The 28-point brilliance by Oiler Brodie Crites proved to be a heroic effort. Crites converted 10 field goals and four 3-pointers. Crites scored 23 of the Oilers' first 29 points to keep them within range.

Defending 2A state champion Sterling (10-0) pulled away after halftime to beat Central Plains 66-48 in a battle of unbeatens before a rowdy Claflin crowd.

Sterling's all-stater Boston Ekart scored 22 points and threw down a slam dunk for a 37-26 lead. The Black Bears outscored the Oilers 23-11 to take charge 50-35.

Sterling's perfectly balanced offense featured Wyatt Newberry (12), Jacob Lewis (11) and Zane Farney (10) in double figures.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Camden Stiles en route to 14 points sparked an 11-0 scoring burst by the Oilers to get within 50-41.

Sterling 16 11 23 16 — 66

Central Plains 10 14 11 13 — 48 

STERLING (11-0)—Totals Ekart 7 (2) 5-10 22; Newberry 6 0-0 12; Lewis 4 3-3 11; Farney 4 2-2 10; Smith 4 0-0 8; Morris 2 0-0 4; Totals 27 (2) 10-15 66

CENTRAL PLAINS (8-1)—Stiles 10 (4) 4-4 28; Stiles 5 (4) 0-0 14; Siemsen 3 0-0 6; Totals 18 (8) 4-4 48

CENTRAL PLAINS GIRLS 48, STERLING 30 — Central Plains Oiler Aevyn Siemsen scored 16 first-half points to ignite a 48-30 non-league basketball victory over Sterling.

The Oilers (6-3) placed Aevyn Siemsen (20 points) and Emery Siemsen (11) in double figures to lead 33-9 at halftime. Aleya Ravenstein scored 11 points to spark a second-half rally by Sterling.

Sterling 3 6 12 9 — 30

Central Plains 17 16 6 9 — 48 

STERLING (3-8)—Ravenstein 4 (3) 0-1 11; Locke 4 (1) 0-1 9; Dashiell 1 0-0 2; Lewis 1 0-0 2; Gray 1 3-4 5; Kilgore 0 1-2 1; Totals 11 (4) 4-8 38

CENTRAL PLAINS (6-3)—Aevyn Siemsen 8 (1) 3-5 20; Emery Siemsen 4 (2) 1-2 11; Nixon 1 0-1 2; Hekele 1 0-2 2; izzy Hurley (1) 6-6 9; Lilly Hurley 1 2-4 4; Totals 16 (4) 12-20 48