The Ellsworth High School Bearcats Boys Basketball Team lost on the road Jan. 12 in a heartbreaker to the Beloit Trojans, 51-62.

After Beloit jumped out to a 1-0 lead, Bearcat senior Braden Schulte scored 3 points to put Ellsworth in the lead.

Schulte then hit another 3 to match the 3 sunk by the Trojans to make it a 6-6 tie.

Ellsworth then went on a 6-0 run with Schulte making another 3 points and freshman Will Cravens securing a 2 point bucket pushing the Bearcats lead to 11-6.

Cravens later hit pay dirt again giving Ellsworth a 13-8 lead.

The Trojans then scored more points to snatch the lead away from the Bearcats, making the score 15-13 in favor of Beloit. Ellsworth freshman Wyatt Pelzel tied the game at 15 only to see the Trojans land back-to-back 3 point shots to take the lead.

Ellsworth responded with freshman Lane Rolfs landing a trey of his own, reducing Beloit’s lead to just two, 20-18 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Beloit scored four more triples only to see Bearcat junior Trey Anderson tie the game 20-20.

A game of back and forth then ensued between Ellsworth and Beloit, with Bearcat sophomore Cade Gwinner tying the game 25-25, only to see Beloit answer by going on a 9-0 run. That made the score 34-25 Beloit at the end of the first half.

In the third quarter, the Bearcats out-scored the Trojans 20-9 after Beloit built a 9 point lead.

Anderson then went on a 6-0 run for Ellsworth to make it a 34-31 game in favor of Beloit.

After more back and forth of shots between the two teams, Cravens grabbed the lead for Ellsworth and Anderson added points to make the score 51-48 Bearcats.

That is when Ellsworth’s luck, and the game, changed as Beloit went on a 14-0 run to earn the win.

Leading scorers for Ellsworth were Braden Schulte with 19 points, Trey Anderson with 17, Will Cravens with 9, Lane Rolfs with 5, and Cade Gwinner and Riley Stone with 2 points each.

The Bearcats were scheduled to play the Sacred Heart Trojans Jan. 15 in Salina, but that game was canceled due to COVID-19.

Next on the schedule for the Ellsworth Bearcats was a Jan. 19 away tournament game against Otis-Bison, followed by another game against the Beloit Trojans at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5, at home in Ellsworth.