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.

KWU heads on the road Saturday, taking on Friends at 5 p.m. at the Garvey Center in Wichita.