Chance Stewart faced heavy defensive pressure but poured in 21 points.
(Photo by Wes Morgan)
It took 24 minutes and 41 seconds for Sturgis to gain the lead in Friday’s Class B district championship game against Edwardsburg. In a matter of seconds it was gone, and so was Edwardsburg, which went on an 8-0 run to secure a 46-35 victory.
The title was Edwardsburg’s first since 1988. For Sturgis, a fourth consecutive championship was not to be seemingly from the start.
The Eddies (17-5) blistered Sturgis for a 10-0 cushion, using a harassing full-court press to make simply getting into any kind of organized set a chore for the Trojans. Sturgis’ offensive struggles were compounded by star senior Chance Stewart’s two early fouls.
Stewart still finished with 21 points, but Edwardsburg’s defense combined with a tightly called game by the officials made it difficult for Sturgis (15-7) to get much going consistently.
“They are so physical that we were going to have to play harder than we’ve ever played before and try to control Stewart as much as we can; he’s such a load,” Edwardsburg coach Steve Wright said. “It was a team effort on the defensive end. They just battled and battled and we got it done.”
Down 24-14 at halftime, Sturgis coach Keith Kurowski passed out the proverbial hammers and chisels
“We dug ourselves in a hole early,” he said. “I did like the way we battled back and fought back in that second half. We talked at halftime that we wanted to get it under three going into the fourth, get it within striking distance, get it to within a possession or two, and we did. We got it where we wanted it. As hard as we worked to get it back, [Edwardsburg] made some tremendous plays.”
A determined Stewart scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to 27-25 late in the third, and Jack Scheske confidently knocked down a 3-pointer with 7:19 in the fourth quarter to put Sturgis up 28-27.
Jack Scheske gave the Trojans their first lead of the game with a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.
Edwardsburg had the final say with a pair of triples and layup that broke Sturgis’ back with time running out.
“Those two big threes and the layup sandwiched in there really did us in,” Kurowski said. “It went from a tied game and then they regained that momentum. As quick as we stole it from them, the momentum, they got it back by making some big plays in the fourth quarter.”
Scheske finished with 11 points, but the rest of the team combined for three — two by Andrew Airgood and a free throw by Ryan Schuller.
Kurowski had said all year long that offensive production from a third and fourth guy would be crucial for Sturgis to have success. All year long the Trojans had a rotating cast of characters able to do that. Not Friday, and that wasn’t going to work against a hot Eddies squad fired up even more by a raucous student section.
Edwardsburg drained six 3-pointers in the game to offset only a 14-for-26 effort at the foul line. Sturgis was 12-for-18 at the stripe and Scheske’s was the only triple to fall.
Stewart was hard on himself afterwards, though he’s the primary reason the Trojans were able to win 15 games this season. He talked about conversations he had with his father, Chad, over the last couple days about avoiding cheap fouls.
“Not how I want to start the game,” Stewart said. “It was a horrible start. … And what do I do? I pick up a cheap one; I just touched the kid right on the elbow and it was stupid. … What do I do? I lower the shoulder and pick up the charge.
“Just two boneheaded plays by me to start the game. Maybe the energy was too much, I don’t know, but it was just two huge plays that put me out of the game for the first half. I could not play my game of basketball.”
He was able to appreciate what the program accomplished over the past four years and this season in particular.
“We weren’t the most talented,” he said. “It was eight guys that just came every day and worked their butts off and we got what we deserved. We worked for 15 wins; those didn’t just come to us. We worked our butts off for 15 wins.
“When it comes to my part, my job, it was easy coming to work every day when I have four, five, six guys that are busting their butts just as hard as I am. It’s easy to go play with those guys. You’ll do anything for those guys. It just stinks that it has to end this way, but that’s life. I knew that when I started playing basketball when I was 4 or 5 that it’s going to come to an end.”