By John Rittenhouse
The Ellsworth boys’ basketball team bounced back from a Jan. 28 home loss to Dawson-Boyd by slaying a pair of Camden Conference foes since Friday.
Ellsworth strolled to a 29-point win in Lake Benton Friday before topping Russell-Tyler-Ruthton by 21 points in Tyler Tuesday.
Ellsworth, 19-2 overall, hosts Minneota and Lincoln HI Friday and Tuesday respectively.
Ellsworth 71, R-T-R 50
A strong effort on the defensive end of the court gave the Panthers a 21-point victory in Tyler Tuesday.
After sporting 18-15 and 36-35 edges at the first two quarter breaks, EHS picked up its intensity on defense while outscoring the Knights 35-15 in the second half.
"Our defense was the key," said Panther coach Ken Kvaale. "I was very proud of the way our kids played defensively in the second half. If we wouldn’t have played good defense, I don’t think we would have won this game."
The game fell into Ellsworth’s favor when it outscored R-T-R 26-3 in the third quarter. The 52-38 lead the Panthers brought into the fourth quarter was whittled down to 19 points by game’s end, but the Knights were unable to recover from a rough third period.
Curt Schilling, Brant Deutsch and Dylan Kvaale scored 27, 22 and 11 points respectively for EHS.
Box score
Schilling 10 0 7-7 27, Jenniges 1 0 2-2 4, Janssen 0 0 0-1 0, Kvaale 4 1 0-0 11, Deutsch 7 0 8-10 22, Brommer 1 1 2-2 7.
Ellsworth 79, LB 50
The Panthers controlled play throughout Friday’s 29-point road win in Lake Benton.
Ellsworth outscored the Bobcats in each of the first three quarters and played the hosts to a draw at 21 in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers raced to a 22-11 lead in the first quarter before outscoring LB 19-8 in the second period to gain a 41-19 halftime advantage. When the Panthers increased the lead to 29 points (58-29) in the third quarter, the game was all but over.
"We pretty much took control of the game right away," said Panther coach Kvaale.
The night was a special one for EHS senior Deutsch, who scored his 1,000th career point during the third quarter. Deutsch scored a team-high 18 points and nabbed six rebounds in the game.
Schilling, who had three steals, recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kvaale added 12 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals to the winning cause. Tom Janssen scored 11 points, and Travis Jenniges charted eight assists.
Box score
Schilling 7 0 1-2 15, Jenniges 3 0 1-2 7, Janssen 2 1 4-6 11, Kvaale 6 0 0-0 12, Deutsch 8 0 2-3 18, Brommer 0 0 3-3 3, Gacke 0 0 5-6 5, Farrell 1 1 1-2 6, Myhrer 1 0 0-0 2.
Team statistics
Ellsworth: 55 percent field goals (totals were unavailable), 17 of 24 free throws (71 percent), 31 rebounds, seven turnovers.