BELOIT — Despite battling from start to finish, the boys’ basketball team fell short against Beloit 68-50 Feb. 2 on the road. This was both the second league loss and second overall season loss for the Bearcats. The Trojans hold the only two victories over the Cats.

At the start of the game, the Bearcats worked to shut down the Trojans’ offense. While they had a hard time putting up shots, they managed to hold Beloit from taking over.

For the Trojans, the first quarter consisted of mostly outside field goals, including two 3-pointers. The Cats, however, drove to the basket and worked the ball into the post to find success. Senior Will Cravens picked up an extra point from an and-1 opportunity.

The first quarter ended with Beloit in the lead, 15-9.

While they were trailing as they entered the second quarter, the Bearcats worked to fight back. The team began to find opportunities to score outside. Cravens and senior Lane Rolfs each put up a 3-pointer, however, they struggled to gain chances to score in the post, where the Trojans began to come alive.

Between Litton, Johnson and Beisner of Beloit, the Trojans put another 15 points on the board in the second quarter. The Cats, on the other hand, had 10 points, ending the first half 30-19 with Beloit in the lead.

The Bearcats picked up in the second half with the intensity and the desire to take charge of the game. The team worked to run their offense and find new ways to put points on the board. Cravens drove to the rim, hit a 3-pointer and dropped in two free throws. Rolfs also had a 3-pointer in the third quarter.

While Ellsworth worked the ball around, Beloit ultimately had them outsized in the post. The Trojans led 45-33 at the end of the third quarter.

Because they were down in the fourth quarter, the Cats started to play more aggressively in an attempt to speed up Beloit and cause turnovers. At the end of the game, they began to foul to stop the clock. At the line, the Trojans capitalized on free throws. In the fourth quarter alone, Beloit shot 18 free throws and made 11. In the entire game, they made 13 of 20, while the Bearcats made 6 of 7.

As the Trojans pulled away, the Cats were unable to catch up offensively. Although putting up 17 points for the quarter, Ellsworth came up short to the Trojans with a final score of 68-50.

Cravens had 23 points for the game, Rolfs put 12 on the board and junior Dax Leiker had 10.

The team will compete at home Feb. 9 against Republic County in the winter homecoming game.