EMPORIA — Perfect seasons don’t happen often. Sterling made it look almost inevitable.
In a physical, back-and-forth battle between familiar Heart of America League rivals, the Black Bears delivered when it mattered most Saturday night, defeating Berean Academy 59-49 to claim the Class 2A state championship at White Auditorium.
The victory not only secured Sterling’s second consecutive state title, it also capped a perfect 28-0 season and cemented a historic year for the Black Bears’ athletic program.
Led by senior forward Boston Ekart, Sterling controlled the decisive moments against a team that knew them as well as anyone.
“This is great,” Ekart said. “Being my senior year and being able to come out here with all my boys and win a state championship again — this is just amazing.”
Ekart was the difference throughout the night. The 6-foot-6 senior poured in a game-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, dominating the interior while battling Berean standout Nolan Sweazy.
Sweazy finished with 12 points and seven rebounds for the Warriors, who finished the season 24-3.
Sterling hoisted its second straight state championship trophy Saturday in Emporia.
Both teams leaned heavily on their star forwards in a matchup that featured strength and physicality around the basket. Sterling coach Derek Schneider said containing Sweazy required constant adjustments.
“Nolan is so hard to guard because he is so strong and physical and can finish around the rim,” Schneider said. “We had to double him and make some changes that maybe we weren’t planning on doing. I thought our guys did a great job adjusting there. Then of course Boston was just so good. He can score from everywhere and he is such a hard matchup. I thought he was the difference.”
Sterling shot an efficient 50 percent from the field and controlled the boards in the win. The Black Bears seized control late in the third quarter behind senior Blake Smith.
Sterling's Jacob Lewis dives on the floor for steal Saturday against Berean Academy.
Smith drilled three 3-pointers in the period, including two in a span of about 45 seconds that stretched Sterling’s lead to 14 and shifted the momentum of the game.
“He hits big shots in big situations,” Schneider said. “Those threes pushed Berean to the point where they had to push the tempo a little more as the clock started running out.”
Smith finished with 14 points while Zane Farney and Jacob Lewis each added seven.
Berean refused to go quietly, however. Midway through the fourth quarter, Wyatt Friesen sparked a rally with five straight points to cut the deficit to just five. Friesen led the Warriors with 13 points.
Boston Ekart celebrates a big play as the Black Bear senior led his team with 25 points and 10 rebounds against Berean Academy.
The Black Bears' lead was dwindling against a team that Schneider hates to go up against.
"I don’t like playing them," Schneider said. "I would rather play any other team at the 2A level in the state of Kansas than them. Berean is just excellent. The only positive was I didn’t have to stay up till 3 in the morning scouting because I knew what they were going to do. They run a ton of stuff that we run and we try to do a lot of stuff that they do. Trying to stop them is a tall task."
But Ekart answered immediately.
The Sterling senior scored on a basket and then completed a three-point play that pushed the lead back to double digits, restoring control for the Black Bears and allowing them to close the game out at the free-throw line.
“I thought our guys came out super aggressive,” Schneider said. “It was an unbelievably physical matchup with two teams playing their game at a really high level. We were fortunate to be the ones shooting free throws at the end.”
The championship capped a remarkable stretch for Sterling athletics.
Sterling capped undefeated seasons in both football and basketball this year.
The Black Bears also won the Class 2A football state championship in the fall while finishing undefeated. With the basketball title and a perfect season, Sterling became the first Kansas school since Central Plains in 2018 to win undefeated state championships in both football and basketball in the same school year.
Sterling also became just the ninth program in Kansas Class 2A history to complete an undefeated basketball season.
For Ekart, who helped lead the program to back-to-back titles after falling in the state semifinals as a sophomore, the journey made the moment even sweeter.
“My sophomore year we lost in the semifinals of state and I think that loss really helped us,” Ekart said. “We experienced losing and what that felt like to be so close. I think that prepared us for the next two years and being able to go back-to-back.”
The weight of expectations followed Sterling throughout the season, but Schneider said his team handled it with maturity.
Sterling's Blake Smith lifts up coach Derek Schneider after receiving his state medal.
“It was a hard season — not hard to coach the guys, because they were awesome — but hard because of the weight of expectations,” Schneider said. “As the season went along the pressure just mounted and mounted. I’m just proud of how our guys responded.”
And when the final buzzer sounded Saturday night, the Black Bears had everything they set out to achieve — perfection, history and another state championship trophy.
CLASS 2A BOYS CHAMPIONSHIIP
STERLING 59, BEREAN ACADEMY 49
Berean Academy… 16 … 8 … 10 … 15 … -- … 49
Sterling… 16 … 14 … 14 … 15 … -- … 59
Berean Academy (24-3) – Balzer 0-2 0-0 0, Kukula 5-11 1-4 12, Unruh 3-9 1-2 7, Friesen 4-12 3-4 13, Sweazy 4-6 4-4 12, Snook 0-4 0-0 0, Wiebe 0-0 0-0 0, Beverlin 2-4 0-0 5. Totals 18-48 9-14 49.
Sterling (28-0) – Smith 4-10 3-4 14, Farney 3-6 1-2 7, Newberry 1-3 2-6 4, Lewis 3-8 1-1 7, Ekart 10-16 5-6 25, Morris 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 22-44 12-19 59.
3-point goals – Berean Academy 4-15 (Friesen 2-7, Kukula 1-2, Beverlin 1-1, Balzer 0-2, Unruh 0-1, Snook 0-2); Sterling 3-12 (Smith 3-7, Farney 0-1, Lewis 0-3, Ekart 0-1). Rebounds – Berean Academy 27 (Sweazy 7); Sterling 29 (Ekart 10). Assists – Berean Academy 11 (Friesen 3); Sterling 10 (Newberry 5). Turnovers – Berean Academy 13, Sterling 13. Total fouls – Berean Academy 18, Sterling 16. Fouled out – none.