Those loud cheers came from the visiting side of the stands, and a lot of them were for Ellis in Central’s 55-44 boys basketball victory at Kenton Ridge.
Ellis scored 13 points, grabbed seven rebounds — four on the offensive end — and was prominent in every take-control run the Irish made.
“Mark Ellis was all over the place,” said Central coach Dan Shay. “He was stepping out of his shell and he’s just figuring things out. Mark Ellis was our player of the game.”
Ellis’ play is not marked by quickness. He is a 6-foot post player, but his ability to be in position to score and rebound against the taller and quicker Cougars and a soft touch around the basket gave the Cougars fits.
“It’s definitely a disadvantage,” Ellis said of his stature. “But I use my strength to box them out and usually try to get leverage on them. I just try to sneak in underneath them.”
The Irish scored the first eight points of the second quarter to build a 26-19 halftime lead, and their zone defense was just beginning to take its toll on the Cougars. A 10-0 run in the third quarter that led to an eventual 15-point lead and a game-closing 11-4 run were the key stretches.
Despite shooting 29 percent over Central’s zone and committing 27 turnovers, the Cougars, who were led by Nick Lias’ 13 points, were close twice in the second half.
Warren Napper’s breakaway dunk cut Central’s lead to 26-24 early in the half, but Napper was called for a technical foul for taunting, a call Cougars coach Kris Spriggs disputed. Central’s Brian Kelly made both free throws and the Irish were starting another run.
“That hurt momentum because it went from a two-point game to a six-point game just like that,” Spriggs said. “We don’t have many dunks here at Kenton Ridge, then you have that.”
Central made 18 steals, six of them by Calum Latham. In turn, the Irish passed the ball well with assists on 14 of their 20 field goals. Latham had nine assists. Kelly scored a game-high 17 points.
“This is the most fun I’ve ever had playing basketball,” Ellis said. “No doubt.”
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