STERLING — Ryan Simmons picked his spots early, and the 6-foot-4 sophomore found enough space to shred the Golden Warriors from the perimeter when No. 5 seed Rochelle battled No. 3 seed Sterling in the IHSA 3A Regional Semifinals on Wednesday.

Simmons hadn’t scored over 12 points in a game all season, but that quickly changed after he drilled six field goals in the first half including three 3-pointers. Using corner and elbow shots to his advantage, Simmons recorded a season-high 15 points and helped the Hubs upset the Golden Warriors 75-59 and reach the championship game against No. 2 seed Geneseo on Friday at 7 p.m. Wednesday also marked the first victory over Sterling for Rochelle (20-11, 9-5 Interstate 8) since 2015.

“Once they start falling, they keep falling,” Simmons said. “When the team keeps feeding me the ball, it all works out for everybody. Those corner and elbow shots have been my main spots in practice recently, and I shoot from those spots all of the time. It was very important for us to get out to a good start. We knew we had to play fast and we had to play hard.”

Sterling entered the night with home-court advantage, but behind 10 first-quarter points from Simmons, Rochelle seized control over Musgrove Fieldhouse early. The Hubs outscored the Golden Warriors 25-11 in the first quarter, with six players making baskets along the way.

“It feels amazing,” senior Seth Gould said. “We came here and told ourselves that we’re not losing this game… I caught the ball down low, and the basket was open most of the time I turned around, so I thought I might as well put the ball in there.”

Gould found himself matched up against Sterling forward Trevon Jordan, who held a 3-inch, 70-pound size advantage, but the Rochelle senior utilized superior footwork and balance to score 20 of his team-leading and season-high 24 points in the painted area. Gould led the Hubs with seven points in the second quarter, where Rochelle closed the first half ahead 44-26.

Gould continued terrorizing Sterling defenders in the third quarter, where he posted up and made four of his team-best 10 field goals to slow the pace and prevent the Golden Warriors from pushing the ball quickly. Rochelle led 57-34 entering the fourth quarter, where the Hubs continued to keep the home fans inside the Musgrove Fieldhouse quiet.

Sterling guard Cooper Willman gave the Golden Warriors a brief spark to open the fourth quarter, making two 3-pointers and scoring eight straight points within the first 90 seconds. Sterling became more aggressive on the boards, and although Rochelle didn’t knock down a single 3-pointer in the second half, the Hubs were too far ahead to be caught. Senior Landan Martin helped close the win out with eight of his 16 points on four layups in the fourth quarter.

“I think we can exploit some of Geneseo’s weaknesses,” Gould said. “They definitely don’t want to run as much as Sterling, and if we can shoot the ball like we did tonight, I don’t think there’s any way they can beat us... Winning a regional would mean everything to me. Those are the types of moments we dream for.”