The Ellendale Cardinals boys basketball team started the game on a 12-4 run and never looked back in a 60-42 win over the Carrington Cardinals on Jan. 7 in the Stutsman County tournament. The Ellendale Cardinals (5-0) are now playing in the championship game for the second consecutive season. The Carrington Cardinals (4-2) couldn’t stay out of foul trouble in this one, with 17 fouls.
Ellendale’s Scott Wagner backed down his defender and hit the hook shot early on to make it 2-0. Carrington’s Lucas Hendrickson hit the floater to make it 8-4 with 2:15 to go in the first quarter. Ellendale’s Mason Molan hit a bucket to extend his team’s lead to 12-4 with 1:25 to go in the first quarter.
Off a second-quarter inbounds pass, Carrington’s Hudson Topp hit a corner three to make it 22-14 before Riley Thorpe responded on the other end with a three of his own to make it 25-14. Carrington’s Josh Bickett hit a halftime buzzer-beating three to make the game 40-17.
Late in the second quarter, Ellendale went to the line twice in quick succession after the refs called Carrington assistant coach Wayne Shipman and one of his players for technical fouls for complaining about the calls going against them.
Topp took a spot-up three to make the game 43-22 with 5:12 to go. Topp spotted up from three again and made the game 43-25 with 4:38 to go in the third quarter. Wagner hit the layup off glass with just over four minutes to go to make it 45-25. At the third-quarter buzzer, Ellendale’s Levi Reis spotted up from deep and sank the triple to make it 54-33.
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Carrington’s Jack Paulson nailed a triple with just under two minutes to go in the game to make it 60-40.
In this game, Ellendale went to the line for 25 free throws, of which they hit 18. The team’s ability to drive to the hoop and draw contact comes from experience according to head coach Bob Vance.
“These guys have been playing for quite a while,” Vance said. “Scotty’s (Wagner) been playing since his freshman year, four years, and then Levi (Reis) and Riley (Thorpe) have been playing. So, it’s just kind of an old man knowledge maybe. They just know how to get the contact, take the contact and hopefully score off the contact.”
In the second half, Carrington kept Wagner relatively silent, holding him to six second-half points, which was down to perimeter defending according to Carrington head coach Tim Ranum.
“There is only so much you can do against him, just be in a good position,” Ranum said. “Some of that was on our perimeter guys, they did a better job of harassing and not letting them find him so easily and making them work a little bit and that is all a part of it. He’s a great player and he has always been one and there is only so much you can do.”
Ellendale looks to get back-to-back championships at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 8, when they face M/P-B. Carrington will look to get back in the win column at 5 p.m. on Jan. 8, when they face E/K-M in the third-place game.
CHS 42, EHS 60
CHS: 9 8 16 9—42
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EHS: 15 25 14 6—60
Scoring leaders:
CHS: Hudson Topp 14, Lucas Hendrickson 9, Josh Bickett 6, Jace Paulson 5, Hudson Schmitz 4, Jacob Seaburg 2, Grady Shipman 2
EHS: Riley Thorpe 21, Scott Wagner 14, Cole Sayler 7, Levi Reis 7, Mason Molan 7, Jack Bommersbach 4
Total stats:
CHS: 16 FGs, 2-9 FTs, 17 fouls, 3-pointers: Topp 4, Bickett 2, Hendrickson, Paulson
EHS: 18 FGs, 18-25 FTs, 11 fouls, 3-pointers: Thorpe 4, Sayler, Reis
