Every winter break, the boys’ varsity basketball team travels about three hours south to Taylorville to play in the Taylorville Holiday Tournament. This trip has become an annual trip for the team where they are able to face tough competition and bond with their teammates.

  This year, the team played Decatur Eisenhower, and the game came down to the final seconds. They ended up winning that game 61-60. After the game, Head coach Ryan Vasquez took the team out to eat before returning to the hotel. On the second day, Sterling played Rantoul and won 67-57. Later in the day, they beat Rochester 70-57. 

  After those two games, the team had placed first in their bracket, so they had to play the second seed in the other bracket. Coach V was very proud of the hard work his team put in.

  That night the team carried on their tradition of the annual white elephant gift exchange in the lobby of the hotel which is always an enjoyable time. The coaches each brought a brand new Wilson Evolution basketball. Sophomore Nico Battaglia and senior Kael Ryan were the winners of those. After that, the team was sent to their rooms as a big day was ahead of them.

 Sterling’s first game the next day was against a Dunlap team. Sterling ended up winning with an ending score of 56-50, winning this game put Sterling in the championship going up against Mt. Zion. They were a very solid team and were ranked higher than S.H.S. in the 3A state rankings. 

  Last year Mt. Zion beat the Golden Warriors in the championship game 68-65, so revenge was a factor for the upcoming game. When the game started, everybody knew it was going to be a battle. It was a back-and-forth game but when it came down to it, Sterling pulled away with the 62-56 win. Senior John Schilling and junior Lucas Austin were named to the all-tournament team for the second year in a row. 

  Overall the team played very well, going 5-0 and bringing home the trophy. Hopefully next year the Golden Warriors can repeat this next year!