SALINA — The Ellsworth boys faced off against the Sacred Heart Knights Feb. 19. Sacred Heart ceme into the contest with a 19-2 record and was ranked No. 3 in Class 2A.

With 5:18 left in the game and the Bearcats down by 3 points, junior Jace Thomasson nailed a 3-pointer from the left baseline to tie the game at 39, then followed that up with another 3 with 4:30 left, to give the Bearcats a 42-39 lead, prompting a Sacred Heart time-out with 4:22 left in the game.

After the time-out, Ellsworth held Sacred Heart to a scoreless possession, followed by a drive and score from senior Cooper McGowan to extend the Bearcat lead to 5 points at 44-39.

On the Knights’ next trip down the floor, they score their first points of the quarter on a 3-pointer, sparking an 8-0 run to lead the Bearcats 47-44. Thomasson then hit a free throw with 55.2 seconds left to bring Ellsworth within 2 points.

Following a made Sacred Heart 2 points, Ellsworth had one more shot as senior Tucker Goss got fouled, making both free throws and bringing the Bearcats to within 2 points with 16.6 seconds left. From then on, all Ellsworth could do was foul and play catchup as the upset slipsped away and the Knights won 51-47.

Ellsworth started the game scoring on two 3-pointers on their first two trips down the floor for an early 6-4 lead over Sacred Heart. The Knights, however, took their first lead of the game at the 5:30 mark, connecting from 3-point land to go up 7-6. Sacred Heart then outscored the Bearcats 8-5 throughout the rest of the quarter to lead 15-11 going into the second quarter.

Ellsworth started the second quarter with an 8-0 run to go up 19-17, before Sacred Heart tied it at 19-19. This time, it was Ellsworth’s turn to outscore the Knights 6-2 to take a 25-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Following a brief Sacred Heart lead in the third quarter, the Bearcats answered back with a 7-0 run to lead 35-25. The Knights closed the quarter, though, with a 14-1 run to lead 39-36 as the two teams headed into the fourth quarter.

“I mean, it was a rough game” Goss said. “We know that we have the guys and the athletes that we can put together good performances, and we came up just a little bit short tonight.”

Leading in scoring for Ellsworth were Thomasson with 16 points, followed by Goss with 11 points, while McGowan added 7.

Ellsworth ends their regular season record at 6-14, including a 2-10 NCAA record, and will travel to Hoisington on Feb. 26 in a rematch against the Cardinals for the first round of substate. If the Bearcats win that contest, they will play March 3 against the winner of Scott City and Lyons. If the Bearcats win their second-round contest, they will play March 6 for the substate championship.