The Ellsworth boys’ basketball team set the tone for a dominant sub-state tournament with a 61-20 first-round win over the Larned Indians Feb. 26.

The start of the game was different than most. Because a Larned player hung on the rim during warm-ups, Ellsworth was able to shoot two technical free throws and gain the first possession of the game. Senior Will Cravens dropped in the first 8 points, all within the first 2 minutes.

Following his teammate’s momentum, senior Riley Stone put up an and-1 block shot. Although he missed the layup, Stone put the Cats in a 10-0 lead after just 3 minutes.

In order to hold the Indians back on offense, Ellsworth took charge defensively. Not only were they aggressive enough to keep their man out of the lane, but they made sure they positioned themselves correctly to help each other out.

Along with a few other buckets by his teammates, Cravens hit 18 points in the first quarter alone, making the end-of-quarter score 25-6 with a commanding Bearcat lead.

At the start of the second quarter, Larned had the first possession, where they put up 3 points. However, the Cats soon returned with a 3-pointer by senior Layton Leiker.

Then, with a perfectly executed alley-oop by senior Lane Rolfs, Cravens dunked to powerfully expand the Bearcat lead.

Working to pick up any and all loose balls on the court, Ellsworth gained extra scoring opportunities due to their hard work and determination.

Once again, the Cats’ defensive effort stopped the Indians from finding ways to score. Only allowing Larned 6 points in the second quarter, the Bearcats were up 42-12 at the end of the first half.

Continuing to work the ball inside, Ellsworth worked off of the momentum of the first half. Stone pulled a foul on a block shot, where he picked up a free throw.

To increase their lead, Rolfs hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter and junior Dax Leiker hit one. At the end of the quarter, the Cats led 54-16.

For the first 2 points of the fourth quarter, Dax Leiker looked to Cravens on a back door cut, assisting him for a dunk.

Because Ellsworth was up by over 30 points, the fourth quarter turned to a running clock. With this, the team was able to sub in more players off the bench to finish out the game.

The final score ended with a Bearcat victory, 61-20.

Their first-round win advances the team to the semi-final round of the substate tournament, where they will take on Lyons at 6 p.m. Feb. 29 in Hoisington.

Photos by KAREN BONAR/Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter