Ellsworth senior guard Tom Janssen is surrounded by a trio of Southwest Christian defenders during Thursday’s South Section 3A Boys’ Basketball Tournament semifinal game in Pipestone. Janssen overcame first-half foul trouble to score 13 points in a 79-52 thumping of the Eagles.By John RittenhouseThe Ellsworth boys’ basketball team secured its third consecutive win in the South Section 3A Boys’ Basketball Tournament with an overpowering performance in Pipestone Thursday.The second-seeded Panthers met No. 3 Southwest Christian in what was anticipated to be a tight battle in the tournament’s semifinal round.Ellsworth, however, controlled play from beginning to end and strolled to a comfortable 79-52 victory.The win was Ellsworth’s 11th straight victory heading into Saturday’s championship game at Southwest State University in Marshall.The 22-6 Panthers met Hills-Beaver Creek, which knocked off No. 1 Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin 49-41 in another semifinal-round game played in Pipestone Thursday, in the championship clash. Look for the Ellsworth-H-BC game story elsewhere in the sports section.SWC beat Ellsworth when the teams squared off in Edgerton Dec. 8, but the Panthers played that game without senior leader Curt Schilling.Schilling, who returned to Ellsworth’s lineup in January after sustaining a serious knee injury in September, burned the nets for a game-high 26 points during Thursday’s rematch.With EHS teammates Tom Janssen, Todd Alberty and Lee Farrell adding 13, 12 and 10 points to the cause respectively, the Panthers simply had too many weapons for the 22-6 Eagles to contend with.SWC remained in striking distance of the Panthers in the first half, but the game turned into a rout in the third quarter.EHS outscored the Eagles 27-10 in the third quarter to turn what was an 11-point halftime lead into a 28-point advantage. SWC was unable to seriously challenge the Panthers the rest of the night.The game was settled in the first 4:38 of the third quarter, when the Panthers increased what was a 36-25 halftime lead into a 53-27 advantage with a 17-2 run that ended with Schilling converting a field goal at the 3:22 mark of the stanza.EHS eighth-grader Cody Schilling extended the difference to 31 points (63-32) when he recorded a field goal with 14 seconds remaining in the period, but the Eagles scored the final three points of the stanza to trail 63-35 at quarter’s end.SWC trimmed Ellsworth’s lead to 22 points at two different occasions in the fourth quarter, but that would be as close as the Eagles would come to catching the Panthers.Ellsworth opened the game with a 9-0 run capped by a field goal from Curt Schilling at the 5:31 mark of the first quarter.The Panthers led 11-2 moments later, but SWC used a 10-3 surge at the end of the quarter to trail 15-12 at period’s end.SWC closed within two points (21-19) of the Panthers at the 6:14 mark of the second quarter. Ellsworth, however, ended the period with a 15-6 surge and led 36-25 when Curt Schilling drained a free throw with 2.2 seconds remaining in the first half.Curt Schilling, who led Ellsworth’s third-quarter ambush of the Eagles by netting 12 points in the period, led EHS with six assists. Cody Schilling added five assists to the winning cause, while Adam Sieff snared a team-high eight rebounds.Box scoreCr.Schilling 8 2 4-5 26, Janssen 2 2 3-4 13, Co.Schilling 3 0 2-4 8, Sieff 1 0 4-5 6, Alberty 4 1 1-2 12, Bittner 0 0 0-0 0, Herman 1 0 0-0 2, Tresbech 0 0 0-0 0, Klaassen 0 0 2-2 2, Farrell 4 0 2-2 10.Team statisticsEllsworth: 28 of 53 field goals (53 percent), 18 of 24 free throws (75 percent), 32 rebounds, three turnovers.SWC: 20 of 59 field goals (34 percent), six of eight free throws (75 percent).
