ELLINWOOD 54, HOISINGTON 48 — Ellinwood converted nine 3-pointers to outscore Hoisington 54-48 in Friday's hard-fought non-league basketball game. The Eagles gained a 38-26 advantage in the second and third quarters.
Eagle standout Landon Simpson faced a challenge from elite Hoisington defender Jason Robinson with 19 points, a trio of 3-pointers and six free throws. The Eagles outscored the Cardinals 27-15 from long range to offset the Cardinals 19-17 free throw advantage.
"Landon did his best job not backing down from the challenge against a really good defender like Robinson," said Ellinwood coach Jaron Lane. ""Landon attacked the basket well and hit big 3s when we needed him."
Cardinal Mason Martin scored 17 points and Rhen Galla added 13 points off 4 of 5 shooting and two consecutive 3-pointers. Kamden Tarlton had four steals. Marcus Ingram grabbed six rebounds. The Cardinals converted 12 of 42 shots (27%), 5 of 17 on 3-pointers (30%).
Ellinwood (9-7), riding a 2-game losing, snapped Hoisington's 5-game winning streak.
"It's a win that gives us momentum heading into the final four games," Lane said. "We definitely needed a bounce-back game against a Hoisington team that plays great team defense and is disciplined offensively."
Simpson and Campbell Coleman both fouled out. Landon Wirtz hit a trio of 3-pointers and scored 12 points.
"We played our best defense all year," Lane said. "Everybody stepped up and played to their strengths, which allowed us to overcome Simpson and Coleman fouling out," he said. "Hoisington made us work to the end. Our guys made plays down the stretch to hold on."
Ellinwood 7 20 18 9 — 54
Hoisington 8 13 13 14 — 48
ELLINWOOD (9-7)—Simpson 5 (3) 6-8 19, Wirtz (3) 3-3 12, Campbell Coleman 1 1-2 3, Heinz (2) 2-2 8, Brack 0 4-8 4, Hosman 3 (1) 1-3 8, Totals 14 (9) 17-26 54
HOISINGTON (8-7)—Mason Martin 5-14 (2-8) 5-10 17, Galla 4-5 (2-2) 3-4 13, Ingram 0-2 (0-1) 2-4 2, Robinson 2-8 (0-1) 3-4 7, Merlau 0-3 1-2 1, Carson Mason 1-2 (1-1) 0-0 3, Kinman 0-2 (0-1) 1-4 1, Thompson 0-1 4-6 4, Tarlton 0-5 (0-3) 0-0 0, Totals 12-42 (5-17) 19-34 48
ELLINWOOD GIRLS 52, HOISINGTON 34 — Ellinwood's Brynn Widener led a perfectly balanced Eagle offense past Hoisington 52-34 in Friday's non-league basketball game. The No. 5 ranked 2A Eagles stout defense held the Cardinals to nine points in the first and third quarters.
Alyvia Batchman scored 10 points and Mette Maxwell converted a trio of 3-pointers for nine points for the Eagles (13-2). Ellinwood converted nine 3-pointers to outscore the Cardinals 27-12.
“This was a big win for our girls against a physical and athletic team,” said Ellinwood coach Greg Maxwell. “We are starting to mature in key situations. Each girl is finding and establishing their role. Our strength is in our team-first mentality and the valuable contributions from each girl. They are having fun and playing relaxed, which makes it easy to be very proud of these kids.”
Ellinwood has featured disciplined defense with an efficient offense. The Eagles' lone state basketball appearance was achieved in 2005. The Eagles challenge CPL leader Central Plains Tuesday.
Hoisington (5-10) was paced by Maier with 10 points and Marley Bittel added eight points. The Cardinals are 1-7 over their past eight games.
Ellinwood 13 10 14 15 — 52
Hoisington 5 15 4 10 — 34
ELLINWOOD (13-2)—Brynn Widener 4 (3) 2-2 13, Batchman 3 (1) 2-4 10, Maxwell (3) 0-0 9, Ritchie 3 0-0 6, Schlessiger 4 0-0 8, Jacobs (1) 1-2 4, Regan Widener 1 0-0 2, Totals 19 (9) 5-8 52
HOISINGTON (5-10)—Maier 5-11 0-0 10, Bittel 3-13 (2-9) 0-0 8, Lutters 2-7 (2-4) 0-0 6, Hanzlick 1-7 (0-1) 3-6 5, Crawford 1-2 (0-1) 0-2 2, Tarlton 0-2 1-6 1, Aylward 1-1 0-0 2, Wilkens 0-6 0-0 0, Totals 13-49 (4-14) 4-14 34
