By John Rittenhouse
The Ellsworth boys’ basketball team had an eight-game winning streak snapped when it took a Camden Conference loss at home Tuesday.
After posting a four-point win in Canby Friday and a 16-point victory against Remsen St. Mary’s in Remsen, Iowa, Saturday, Dawson-Boyd handed the Panthers a five-point setback in Ellsworth Tuesday.
Ellsworth, 17-2 overall and 8-1 in the CC, plays in Lake Benton Friday and Russell-Tyler-Ruthton in Tyler Tuesday.
D-B 83, Ellsworth 78
The visiting Blackjacks stunned the Panthers and their fans by handing Ellsworth its first home loss of the 2002-03 season Tuesday.
After sporting slim leads at the first two quarter breaks (24-21 and 41-40), D-B found itself facing a 63-59 deficit heading into the fourth quarter of play. Ellsworth has done a good job of putting opponents away in the fourth quarter this season, but it didn’t happen this time as the Blackjacks outscored the Panthers 24-15 in the final eight minutes to win by five.
"They played very well," said Panther coach Ken Kvaale, referring to the Blackjacks. "We played an average game, and they played a good to great game. I think one of the major factors was we didn’t run our offense particularly well, and they executed their offense very well."
Nick Hastad was the focal point of a D-B offense that made 12 three-point shots in the game. Hastad led all scorers with 33 points.
Dylan Kvaale scored 22 points, grabbed seven rebounds and passed for five assists for the Panthers.
Curt Schilling, who had a double-double with 21 points and 10 assists, nabbed nine rebounds. Brant Deutsch scored 15 points, pulled down nine rebounds and charted eight assists. Blake Brommer scored 12 points and Tom Janssen recorded six rebounds. Travis Jenniges, who had six rebounds, chipped a tooth when a late-game collision sent him into one of the walls in the EHS gym.
Box score
Schilling 8 0 5-6 21, Jenniges 3 0 0-0 6, Janssen 1 0 0-0 2, Kvaale 6 3 1-2 22, Deutsch 7 0 1-2 15, Brommer 0 3 3-5 12.
Team statistics
Ellsworth: 31 of 56 field goals (55 percent), 10 of 15 free throws (67 percent), 35 rebounds, 11 turnovers.
Ellsworth 80, RSM 64
A big performance by an EHS reserve helped the Panthers record their eighth straight victory Saturday in Remsen, Iowa.
The Panthers needed a lift from its bench when starters Schilling and Dylan Kvaale got into some first-half foul trouble, and Janssen answered the call by turning in a 13-point performance.
"Janssen’s play was a big key," said Panther coach Kvaale. "Curt and Dylan got into foul trouble, and Janssen came off the bench to hit three three-point shots in the second quarter. He got a standing ovation when we pulled him out of the game, and he deserved it."
Janssen helped the Panthers erase an 18-16 deficit at the end of the first quarter and gave Ellsworth a 33-31 edge entering the second half.
Ellsworth increased its lead to five points (43-38) by the end of the third quarter before making 11 of 13 field goals during a fourth quarter that featured the Panthers outscoring the hosts 37-26.
Schilling, who had 21 points, seven assists and seven rebounds in the game, and Brommer, who added 10 points and six rebounds, led the fourth-quarter charge by netting 10 points each.
Deutsch, who had six assists, recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Kvaale added 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to the cause. Jenniges chipped in five rebounds.
Box score
Schilling 9 0 3-4 21, Jenniges 2 0 2-4 6, Janssen 1 3 2-2 13, Kvaale 1 2 6-10 14, Sieff 0 1 0-0 3, Deutsch 5 0 3-4 13, Brommer 1 2 2-3 10.
Team statistics
Ellsworth: 27 of 45 field goals (60 percent), 18 of 27 free throws (67 percent), 38 rebounds, 12 turnovers.
Ellsworth 62,
Canby 58
The Panthers had to fight to the finish in order to win their eighth consecutive conference game Friday in Canby.
The home-standing Lancers were entertaining thoughts of an upset when they battled Ellsworth to a draw at 25 in the first half, but EHS outscored Canby 37-33 in the second half to prevail by a four-point margin.
"It was a good battle," said Panther coach Kvaale. "Brommer hit a big three-point shot late in the game to give us a bigger lead. Another key was the good help-defense we played in the second half."
Canby led 14-12 after eight minutes of play before EHS tied the game at 25 by the intermission.
Ellsworth outscored the Lancers 19-13 in the third quarter to open a 44-38 lead that they were able to protect while being outscored by Canby 20-18 in the final period.
Schilling, who had eight rebounds and four assists in the game, scored 18 of his team-high 29 points in the second half. Brommer capped a 12-point, six-rebound, four-assist effort by scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Dylan Kvaale, who had seven assists, registered a double-double with 10 rebounds and 15 points. Jenniges contributed five assists and four recoveries to the cause, while Deutsch charted eight rebounds.
Box score
Schilling 9 0 11-12 29, Jenniges 1 0 0-0 2, Janssen 0 0 0-1 0, Kvaale 6 1 0-0 15, Deutsch 2 0 0-0 4, Brommer 0 2 6-7 12.
Team statistics
Ellsworth: 21 of 42 field goals (50 percent), 17 of 20 free throws (85 percent), 31 rebounds, 16 turnovers.