Ellsworth senior guard Adam Sieff (23) sets up a teammate with a pass during Saturday’s Section 3A boys’ basketball game in Worthington. Sieff scored 20 points and passed for six assists during a 76-54 victory over Southwest Star Concept.By John RittenhouseThe Ellsworth boys’ basketball team began its defense of the 2003 South Section 3A Tournament championship by rolling to a big win during Saturday’s quarterfinal round of the 2004 event in Worthington.The second-seeded Panthers took on No. 7 Southwest Star Concept in the event’s third quarterfinal-round game of the day at Worthington High School.SSC put up a good fight while taking a one-point lead early in the second quarter, but Ellsworth gained control of the game by period’s end and coasted to a 76-54 victory over the Quasars.The win, Ellsworth’s 10th straight victory, sends the 21-6 Panthers to tonight’s semifinals in Pipestone. Ellsworth will play No. 3 Southwest Christian, a 61-33 winner over Fulda Saturday in Worthington, in a 7:30 p.m. game. This will be the third straight year Ellsworth has met Southwest Christian in the postseason.Four Panthers reached double figures in scoring during Saturday’s game with SSC, including senior Todd Alberty, who surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career with a 12-point effort.The score was tied at two early in the first quarter when Ellsworth put together a 6-0 run that gave it an 8-2 lead. The run featured a reverse layup by Alberty at the 6:03 mark of the quarter, which gave him 1,000 points.Ellsworth proceeded to extend its lead to 11 points (15-4) when Curt Schilling drained a three-point shot at the 3:55 mark of the opening quarter, but SSC closed the period with an 11-2 run and trailed 17-15 at the end of the stanza.The Quasars took their first lead of the game at 18-17 19 seconds into the second quarter before Ellsworth regained control of the game.The Panthers went on a 16-4 run that ended with Schilling, who re-entered the game after sustaining a slight ankle injury at the 6:08 mark of the period, scoring at 3:14 of the second quarter to make it a 33-22 game.SSC trimmed the difference to nine points (35-26) by the end of the second quarter, but the Panthers scored the first nine points of the third quarter and led 44-26 when Schilling scored at the 6:20 mark of the period.Adam Sieff, who led the Panthers with 20 points and six assists in the game, gave EHS a 20-point lead (55-35) when he converted a three-point play with 1:50 left in the stanza. SSC scored the final points of the quarter to trail 55-36 heading into the final eight minutes of play.SSC was unable to make a serious run at the Panthers in the fourth quarter. The Quasars did trail by as little as 15 points, but EHS led by as many as 23 on the way to a 22-point victory.Schilling scored 19 points, collected 12 rebounds and passed for five assists in the game. Lee Farrell netted 14 points for the winners. Tom Janssen chipped in five assists.Box scoreCr.Schilling 8 1 0-0 19, Janssen 2 0 1-3 5, Co.Schilling 0 0 0-1 0, Sieff 8 0 4-6 20, Alberty 5 0 2-4 12, Herman 2 0 2-2 6, Klaassen 0 0 0-0 0, Farrell 6 0 2-2 14.Team statisticsEllsworth: 32 of 58 field goals (55 percent), 11 of 18 free throws (61 percent), 35 rebounds, 12 turnovers.
