The Ellsworth boys’ basketball team took a win in their first league game of the season, beating Minneapolis 53-25 Dec. 12 at home.

After senior Riley Stone won the tipoff, the Cats were on their way. Despite a dry first 2 minutes of the game with neither team scoring until the 6-minute mark, Minneapolis came away with the first bucket of the game.

Although struggling to put up points, the Bearcats executed defensively and made it their mission to pick up any loose balls on the court. Through their effort and fight, they managed to force five fouls on the Lions. This allowed the Cats to get to the free throw line after every Minneapolis foul.

Senior Lane Rolfs scored the first 2 points for the Cats at the line. The next possession down the floor, senior Will Cravens had a fast break for a dunk.

From there, the Bearcats were unstoppable. By playing clean and tough defense as well as taking control on offense, the team finished with a lead of 13-5 at the end of the first quarter. Cravens had 11 of those points and Rolfs had two. Just of Minneapolis was the lead scorer for the Lions in the first quarter, scoring all 5 of their points.

The second quarter kicked off with the same intensity. Cravens was the first to score in the quarter with a pull-up jumper for 2 points.

With a buzzer-beater 3-pointer by junior Dax Leiker, the Bearcats finished the first half ahead, 33-11.

Stone put up the first bucket of the second half. By running smooth and efficient offense, the team was able to work together to get good shots and to increase their lead.

The momentum from the first half allowed the Cats the confidence to take control of the second. By taking advantage of Minneapolis’ weaknesses, Ellsworth was able to gain new opportunities to make stops and turn them into scoring opportunities.

With a last-second shot, Stone put up 2 points and drew a foul, allowing an and-one free throw. After sinking the free throw, the Cats ended the third quarter up, 50-18.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Cats struggled to get anything going offensively, but still made up for it on defense. Eventually getting back their stride, Dax Leiker shot an and-one layup to make it a 3-point play.

Because Ellsworth had a 30-point lead, the fourth quarter was played with a running clock.

The final score was 53-25, gaining the Bearcats another victory and a 1-0 league record.

Cravens led with 24 points and Rolfs had 11.

The Bearcats will compete next at Larned Jan. 2.