By John Rittenhouse
Ellsworth opened the South Section 3A Boys’ Basketball Tournament in impressive fashion by destroying Southwest Star Concept 82-42 in a quarterfinal-round game played in Worthington Saturday.
Ellsworth, the tournament’s No. 1 seed, backed up its pre-tournament ranking by outscoring the eighth-seeded Quasars in every quarter during what ended up being a 40-point victory.
The win gives the Panthers a 24-2 record heading into tonight’s semifinal round in Worthington.
Ellsworth takes on No. 5 Adrian, a 53-42 victor over Fulda Saturday, at 6 p.m.
The Panthers entered Saturday’s game with a business-like approach, and they took care of their business well.
Ellsworth made 20 of 27 field goals (74 percent) while opening a 20-point halftime lead that set the stage for a 40-point thrashing of the Quasars.
"We did what we know how to do," said Panther coach Ken Kvaale. "We don’t take any team for granted, and we played really well against SSC."
SSC sported a 6-5 edge in the first quarter before the momentum moved into Ellsworth’s corner for good.
Panther senior Dylan Kvaale, who led EHS with 24 points in the game, provided some spark for his team by nailing a pair of three-point shots to give the Panthers a 11-6 advantage.
Ellsworth went on to outscore SSC 15-5 the rest of the period to make it a 26-10 game.
The Panthers controlled play while outscoring the Quasars 20-9 in the second period to open a 46-19 halftime cushion.
Ellsworth increased its lead to 29 points (59-28) with a 13-11 scoring edge in the third quarter before outscoring SSC 23-14 in the fourth quarter to prevail by 40.
Curt Schilling recorded a double-double for EHS by scoring 19 points and collecting 11 rebounds. Tom Janssen added 13 points to the cause, while Travis Jenniges turned in a 10-point, eight-assist, three-steal effort.
Kvaale had seven rebounds and five steals for the winners, while Brant Deutsch added nine rebounds and seven assists.
Box score
Schilling 8 1 0-0 19, Jenniges 4 0 2-2 10, Janssen 2 2 3-4 13, Kvaale 7 3 1-5 24, Deutsch 3 0 1-3 7, Brommer 1 1 2-2 7, Myhrer 0 0 2-2 2.
Team statistics
Ellsworth: 31 of 63 field goals (49 percent), 11 of 18 free throws (61 percent), 40 rebounds, 11 turnovers.
