The Sterling Tiger’s needed overtime Thursday to advance in the Colorado 3A State Basketball Tournament at the University of Denver’s Hamilton Gym. Tied at 52 at the end of regulation, the Tigers outscored the Manual Thunderbolts 11-2 in the extra period to advance to Friday’s semifinals.

Trailing 16-14 after the first period, Sterling hit four threes in the second quarter to cap off a 19-5 run to take a 33-21 lead into the locker room at half. Sterling was able to maintain their lead in the third quarter but could not put the game out of reach as Manual closed to 41-37 after three.

The Thunderbolts completed the comeback thanks in part to a big fourth quarter from Curshawn Dickey. The 5’10” senior scored 7 of his 15 points in the stanza and combined with a timely 3-point shot from junior Andrew Coleman, Manual was able to tie the game at 52-52 to force the extra period.

In overtime, the game was tied at 54 and again at 56. But a deep three-pointer from senior Jackson Keil with less than a minute remaining, and four straight free throws from senior Bray Swenson, put Sterling over the top and into the semifinals

Jackson Keil finished the afternoon with a game-high 43 points for the Tigers, who move into the final four for the sixth straight year, will take on third-seeded Aspen. The 25-0 Skiers advanced with a 62-35 quarterfinal win over Resurrection Christian Thursday morning. Tipoff between Sterling and Aspen is set for 5:30 p.m. at University of Denver’s Hamilton gym.