The Sterling Black Bears ran the table on the 2025-26 basketball season with a 28-0 record, but it was not easy because the Berean Academy Warriors put up a battle in the Kansas Class 2A boys state title contest Saturday night.
The Black Bears fought off Heart of America League rival Berean Academy 59-49 at William Allen White Arena in Emporia.
The Black Bears, coached by Derek Schneider, went 24-0 en route to the 2A state title in 2025. The Bears now have a 52-game winning streak. Sterling posted a 23-3 record during the 2023-24 season.
Several Black Bears players were members of the 2025 Class 1A state championship football team.
The score was tied 16-16 at the end of the first quarter. Sterling went on a 14-8 run in the second quarter run to take a 30-24 halftime lead. Sterling led 44-34 at the end of the third quarter.
Boston Ekart scored 18 of Sterling’s 30 first-half points and had 6 of his team’s 12 rebounds. He finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Blake Smith scored 14 points, Zane Farney 7, Jacob Lewis 7, Wyatt Newberry 4 and Cameron Morris 2. Newberry had 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Sterling blocked 8 shots, including 3 by Lewis.
Nolan Sweazy led the Warriors at halftime with 10 points. He finished the game with 12 points and 7 rebounds. Wyatt Friesen led the Wildcats with 13 points and dished off 3 assists.
Berean’s Emory Kukula had 12 points and 5 rebounds. Jace Unruh had 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots. Tripp Beverlin added 5 points.
Sterling, which defeated Douglass 77-29 in the quarterfinals and St. Marys 73-52 in the semifinals, defeated Berean Academy 59-50 on Feb. 6 at Sterling.
Berean Academy, coached by Lewis Wiebe, finished the season with a 24-3 record.
• Class 2A boys third-place game — In the Kansas Class 2A boys state basketball tournament third-place game Saturday, St. Marys defeated Pittsburg St. Mary’s Colgan 85-73 in double overtime.
St. Marys, coached by former Kansas State University basketball player Will Spradling, went on a 17-5 run in the second overtime to run away with the victory. The St. Marys Bears finished the season with a 21-8 record and the St. Mary’s Colgan Panthers posted a 19-9 record.
St. Marys’ Benjamin DeVader fired in seven 3-pointers and scored 31 points. Killian McCann scored 19, Zach Sommars 15 and Louis Archer 15. Jace Hurla added 6 points.
Five players scored in double figures for St. Mary’s-Colgan, led by Will Schremmer with 16 points. Gabriel Brown added 15, Brady Bottega 13, Brady Crossland 11 and Jayden Brown 11. Crossland grabbed 8 rebounds.
