By John Rittenhouse
The Ellsworth boys have played well as a basketball team all season, and another strong team effort paid off for the Panthers in a big way Thursday at Southwest State University in Marshall.
Taking on Wabasso in the Section 3A championship game, the Panthers used all their weapons to hand the Rabbits a 75-64 setback and earn its first berth in a state basketball tournament in school history.
The 27-2 Panthers opened the state tournament at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter Tuesday when they took on New Life Academy in Class 1A quarterfinals. Look for that game story on the front page of the sports section.
If the Panthers continue to display the offensive balance they showed against Wabasso Thursday, there’s reason to believe they’ll do just as well in the state competition.
Four EHS players scored between 13 and 22 points in the 11-point victory over the Rabbits, a team that ultimately was overmatched by all of Ellsworth’s offensive weapons.
"It was nice to see that type of balance," said Panther coach Ken Kvaale. "That is something we’ve taken pride in all season long. We don’t care who gets the credit, just as long as we get the job done."
Junior Curt Schilling and seniors Dylan Kvaale, Blake Brommer and Brant Deutsch got the job done in the section title tilt.
Schilling led the parade by scoring 22 points and ripping down 19 rebounds. He also contributed six assists and four steals to the winning cause.
Kvaale wasn’t far behind Schilling with 20 points and a team-high seven assists.
Brommer, who finished the game with 14 points and three steals, and Deutsch, who recorded 13 points, six rebounds and six assists, also made key contributions at different times during Ellsworth’s successful Rabbit hunt.
Senior guard Travis Jenniges (four assists) and junior Tom Janssen (five assists) were limited to a combined six points for EHS, but they hurt the Rabbits with their hustle and all-around team play.
Wabasso got off to a good start by taking 2-0 and 3-2 leads in the early stages of the game, but the Panthers moved in front 7-3 with a three-point shot from Deutsch and a field goal by Jenniges at the 5:09 mark of the opening period.
The Rabbits battled back to knot the score at seven before Brommer scored five consecutive points to give the Panthers a 12-7 advantage.
Ellsworth led by seven points (16-9) when Kvaale scored from close range with 1:11 left in the period, but a three-point shot by Wabasso as time expired made it a 16-12 difference heading into the second quarter.
The Panthers could have been disheartened by Wabasso’s late three, instead, they rose to the challenge like champions. Ellsworth went on a 10-0 run consisting of eight points from Schilling and two from Kvaale in the first 3:10 of the second period to open a 26-12 lead.
"That was a big run," coach Kvaale said. "Our thinking heading into the game was to keep Wabasso from getting runs. If we could get a couple of runs of our own, the more power to us."
Wabasso did counter with a 9-2 surge to trim the difference to seven points (28-21) with 1:21 left to play in the first half. Brommer, however, drained a three at the 1:03 mark of the second period to cap the scoring in the first half, and gave EHS a 31-21 halftime lead.
Ellsworth made 20 of 28 field goals in the second half, and opened the third quarter with a 10-5 surge capped by a field goal from Schilling with 5:27 remaining in the third period to give the Panthers their biggest lead of the game at 41-26.
Wabasso scored nine of the next 11 points to trim the difference to eight (43-35) with 3:57 left, but Kvaale came up with two field goals and Jenniges added another during a 6-0 run that made it a 52-37 game as the third period progressed.
The Rabbits then scored five straight points before Schilling connected for a field goal with 11 seconds left in the stanza to make it a 54-42 game heading into the fourth quarter.
Wabasso outscored Ellsworth 10-5 in the first 2:04 of the fourth quarter to climb within seven points (59-52) of the Panthers. Brommer, who scored 10 points in Ellsworth’s first three post-season games combined, then broke the Rabbits’ will when he nailed three consecutive field goals during an 8-2 EHS run that gave it a 67-54 lead with 3:36 left to play.
"It was good to see Blake (Brommer) come out and play well," said coach Kvaale. "It was the first time he reached double figures in the post season. The thing is we have a lot of guys capable of scoring a lot of points."
The Rabbits closed the gap to 10 points twice in the game’s final three minutes before falling by 11 points in the end.
Box score
Schilling 10 0 2-6 22, Jenniges 2 0 0-0 4, Janssen 0 0 2-2 2, Kvaale 8 1 1-4 20, Deutsch 4 1 2-2 13, Brommer 3 2 2-2 14.
Team statistics
Ellsworth: 31 of 51 field goals (61 percent), nine of 17 free throws (53 percent), 32 rebounds, 13 turnovers.
Wabasso: 23 of 53 field goals (43 percent), 10 of 17 free throws (59 percent), 17 rebounds, seven turnovers.
