The Niles varsity basketball team knew coming into Tuesday night’s opener it would have its hands full with visiting Sturgis.

The Trojans are tall and talented and already had a game under the belt.

But Niles didn’t let the size play a factor in its 42-39 opening night victory over Sturgis.

Led by the play of standout guard Myles Busby, the Vikings (1-0) built up a 30-16 first half lead that probably should have been a bit bigger according to Niles coach Todd Pawielski.

“Myles is a cut above,” Pawielski said. “We kind of got on him at halftime, he was being too unselfish. I thought we had a chance to stretch our lead up to around 16 or 17 points if he just shot the ball a little bit more in the lane.”

Busby, who finished with a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds, helped Niles open up a 15-7 first quarter advantage, which it stretched to 30-16 at the break.

The Vikings started the game on a 9-2 run thanks in part to a pair of 3-pointers by Matthew McLaughlin and a three-point play by Nick Lucero.

In the second quarter the lead reached 20-9 on a three-point play by Zak Prenkert, but the Trojans went on a bit of a spurt to cut the lead down to 22-14 with 2:05 to play in the opening half.

Busby delighted the home crowd with a monster dunk that ended up drawing a technical foul for hanging on the rim despite the fact that a Sturgis player was laying on the ground below Busby.

Boe Savage made both free throws with 1:26 to play to keep the Vikings from building on the momentum.

Niles would take a 25-16 lead into the locker room at halftime.

It was all Trojans in the third quarter as Sturgis outscored the Vikings 15-5 to earn its first lead of the night when Dan Scheske connected on a 3-pointer with 44.3 seconds remaining in the quarter to put the Trojans up 31-30.

It didn’t take long for Niles to reclaim the lead as Busby hit a pair of free throws just over a minute into the final quarter to give the Vikings a 32-31 advantage.

Niles would trail one more time in the quarter as Savage hit another of his five 3-pointers on the night to make it a 34-32 contest in favor of the visitors with six minutes remaining.

Two more Busby free throws knotted the count at 34-34 and when he picked up a loose ball and went coast-to-coast with 3:32 remaining the Vikings were ahead for good at 36-34.

Niles went on a 7-0 run, capped by Austin Parks’ two free throws with 40.1 seconds remaining to make it a 41-34 contest.

Savage would hit one last three to cut the lead to 41-37 12 seconds later, but Niles was able to run out the clock and complete the victory.

Besides Busby’s total, Niles also got 10 points from McLaughlin.

Savage led the Trojans with 17 points, while Scheske had 10.

Niles is back in action on Friday night as its hosts Mattawan in its Big 16 Conference West Division opener.

Niles ended up with a sweep on the night as both the freshmen and JV squads were victorious against Sturgis.

STURGIS 39

Boe Savage 5 2-2 17; Patrick Hass 0 0-0 0; Dan Scheske 4 0-0 10; Bryce Russell 0 0-0 0; Tyler Bennett 0 0-0 0; Chance Stewart 1 0-0 2; Cody Jansen 2 0-4 4; Drake Miller 2 2-2 6. TOTALS: 14 4-8 39

NILES 42

Myles Busby 6 5-6 18; Matthew McLaughlin 2 4-4 10; Austin Parks 0 3-5 3; Logan Harpenau 0 0-2 0; Riley Robson 0 0-0 0; Zak Prenkert 1 2-3 3; Nick Lucero 1 2-3 3; Jordan Potthoff 0 1-2 1; Taylor Campbell 0 0-0 0; Quintin Irby 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 11 17-25 42

Sturgis 7 16 31 39

Niles 15 25 30 42

3-point baskets: Sturgis 7 (Savage 5, Scheske 2), Niles 3 (Busby, McLaughlin 2). Total fouls: Sturgis 23, Niles 14. Fouled out: Miller (S). Varsity records: Sturgis 1-1, Niles 1-0

Niles…74

Sturgis..51

STURGIS — The Niles girls’ basketball team rebounded from its first loss of the season to pound host Sturgis 74-51 Tuesday night.

The Lady Vikings (2-1) grabbed a 22-8 first quarter lead and never looked back, leading 47-19 at halftime.

Alexis McIntee and Nichole Sly helped get Niles off to a quick start as the pair  combined for 14 of the Vikings’ 22 first quarter points.

The Vikings outscored the Trojans 17-12 in the third quarter, but Sturgis put up 20 points in the fourth compared to 10 for Niles.

Sly finished with a game-high 24 points, while McIntee added 19. Niles also got 18 points from Maureen Craig.

Niles also won the freshmen contest over Sturgis 29-26. Tala Gentry led the Vikings with nine points and six rebounds, while Alyssa Middleton added five points and five steals.

NILES 74

Starr Ford 0 0-0 0; Alexis McIntee 4 7-8 19; Chantal Baker 0 0-0 0; Savannah Wolnik 2 1-6 5; Brittani Glenn 0 0-2 0; Brooke Wilson 0 0-0 0; Maureen Craig 7 0-0 18; Nichole Sly 9 4-4 24; Whitney Ellis 0 0-0 0; Taylor Glick 2 1-2 5; Michelle Briand 1 1-2 3. TOTALS: 25 14-24 74

STURGIS 51

Marissa Parker 3 0-1 7; Kesley Caposey 1 2-2 5; Hannah Myers 0 0-0 0; Courtney Griffith 2 2-2 7; Jessica Carr 0 0-0 0; Amberlee McKerchie 0 0-0 0; Nicholette Schroeder 0 0-0 0; Jaylynn Cline 6 2-2 15; Nicole Pitel 8 1-4 17. TOTALS: 20 7-11 51

Niles 22 47 64 74

Sturgis 8 19 31 51

3-point baskets: Niles 10 (McIntee 4, Craig 4, Sly 2), Sturgis 4 (Parker, Caposey, Griffith, Cline). Total fouls: Niles 16, Sturgis 16. Fouled out: McKerchie (S). Varsity record: Niles 2-1