The Coyotes' hot start to Wednesday's game with Sterling didn't last long as the Warriors came back and then held on for a 76-72 win over Kansas Wesleyan inside Mabee Arena.
Wesleyan jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the game in the first five minutes, but Sterling could come back and eventually tie the game at 12 on a 3-pointer by Jayden Garrison with 10:41 left in the first half.
KWU scored the next four to take a 16-12 lead, but Sterling tied it again at 18 and then took a 21-18 lead on Damond Daniels' triple with 6:28 left in the first half.
Sterling built as much as a five-point lead at 23-18 before the Coyotes came back and took the lead back on Alex Littlejohn's bucket with 4:25 left in the half.
The lead bounced back and forth several times until Sterling took a 32-31 lead into the half on a three-point play by Elias Ngoga with three seconds left.
The lead bounced back and forth to open the second half as the Coyotes built four-point cushions several times, the last at 48-44 with 14:06 left on another Littlejohn bucket, but Sterling turned things in their favor with a 10-0 run that gave the Warriors a 54-48 lead with 12:13 to go.
The Coyotes cut the difference to a point with 9:38 left on Stefan Spray's bucket, and then tied it at 58 on a 3-pointer by freshman Carson Jones and took the lead at 59-58 on a free throw by Jones with eight minutes left.
Sterling took the lead back 60-59, but a free throw by Evens Appolon and a Littlejohn bucket made it 62-60 Coyotes with 6:35 left.
Another 8-0 run by Sterling gave the Warriors a 68-62 lead on a bucket by Ngoga with 4:11 left, and the Warriors stretched to lead out to eight on free throws by Daniels.
Back came the Coyotes in a furious charge to try to rally. Easton Hunter scored with 36 seconds left, a steal and score by Izaiah Hale made it 74-70 with 31 seconds left. Free throws by Mooch Austin gave Sterling a 76-70 lead.
Littlejohn scored and then Carson Jones forced a Sterling turnover giving the ball back to the Coyotes. The Coyotes couldn't convert though, missing a pair of 3-pointers before the final horn.
Littlejohn led all scorers in the game with 29 points, leaving him just 109 points shy of KWU's 70-year-old all-time scoring record. He also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, leaving him 106 short of the 75-year-old career mark for the Coyotes.
The Coyotes shot 28 of 67 from the field for 41.8 percent but were just 4 of 22 from 3-point range. Jones was the only other Coyote in double figures with 11.
Evens Appolon had six blocks for the Coyotes.