By John Rittenhouse
A pair of dominating performances by the Ellsworth boys’ basketball team kept the Panthers unbeaten for the season.
Ellsworth rolled to a 23-point win over Dawson-Boyd in Dawson Friday. The Panthers upended George-Little Rock (Iowa), by 29 points in Ellsworth Monday.
The 6-0 Panthers cap their pre-Christmas schedule by hosting Lake Benton tonight.
Ellsworth 82, G-LR 53
Ellsworth’s physical superiority proved to be the difference in Monday’s 29-point home win over George-Little Rock.
The Panthers dominated the paint by outrebounding G-LR 44-16 and outscoring the hosts in every quarter.
"We outmuscled them," said Panther coach Ken Kvaale. "We were physically stronger than they were. We dominated the boards, and we shot around 55 percent. We played pretty well."
Ellsworth led 22-10 after eight minutes of play and doubled G-LR’s scoring output (44-22) by halftime. The Panthers led by 24 points (58-34) after three quarters before winning by 29.
Curt Schilling (22 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists) and Brant Deutsch (20 points, 12 rebounds and six assists) recorded double-doubles for the winners. Dylan Kvaale chipped in 19 points and six assists. Adam Sieff netted 10 counters.
Box score
Schilling 8 0 6-7 22, Jenniges 0 0 2-2 2, Janssen 1 0 0-0 2, Kvaale 7 1 2-2 19, Sieff 2 1 3-4 10, Deutsch 9 0 2-4 20, Brommer 2 1 0-0 7, Gacke 0 0 0-1 0.
Ellsworth 78, D-B 55
A strong effort as a team carried Ellsworth to a 23-point road win in Dawson Friday.
Four Panthers reached double figures in scoring for a team that made 49 percent of its field goals and collected a season-high 55 rebounds during the contest.
"We did a really good job on the boards, and we ran our offensive plays well," said Panther coach Kvaale. "We played a pretty good ballgame, and it was a good team effort."
The Panthers led 19-12 after eight minutes of play before opening a 14-point cushion (38-24) by halftime. The difference was 17 points (59-42) after three quarters, and EHS outscored Dawson-Boyd 19-13 in the fourth quarter to win by 23.
Schilling, Brant Deutsch and Kvaale all recorded double-doubles for the winners. Schilling had 22 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, while Deutsch had 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Kvaale, who had nine rebounds, scored 15 points and passed for 10 assists.
Blake Brommer added 11 points and eight rebounds to the winning cause.
Box score
Schilling 8 0 6-7 22, Jenniges 3 0 0-0 6, Janssen 0 0 3-4 3, Kvaale 7 0 1-4 15, Sieff 1 0 0-1 2, Deutsch 8 0 2-2 18, Brommer 2 2 1-2 11, Gacke 0 0 1-2 1.
Team statistics
Ellsworth: 31 of 63 field goals (49 percent), 14 of 22 free throws (64 percent), 55 rebounds, 12 turnovers.