St. Edward ousted from regional

POPLAR GROVE - Mike Ellis gave it his best shot, but it wasn't enough.

The St. Edward guard led a spirited comeback with 14 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter, but the Green Wave fell to Rockford Christian, 58-43, in the semifinals of the Class 2A North Boone regional Wednesday night.

Rockford Christian (23-4) will face Genoa-Kingston for the regional title Friday while St. Edward finishes the season 12-16.

The Wave trailed by 20 points before Ellis took over. He scored 12 straight points for St. Edward at one point.

"Some days Michael, if other people aren't stepping up, has a tendency sometimes to overdo it," said St. Edward coach Keith Chuipek. "But tonight they were going in. He was overdoing it a little, but they were going in."

The Royal Lions took command early, leading 13-5 after one quarter and 31-12 at halftime. They took advantage of their size, with 6-foot-7 Drew Anderson and 6-3 Arthur Ford scoring in the post and guard Jahil Smith driving.

With Zack Von Ahnen in foul trouble, the Wave couldn't respond.

"We didn't have an answer for the big guys down there," Chuipek said. "They were scoring at will."

Anderson and Ford finished with 14 points apiece, while Smith added 13. With 6-1 guard Brayden Tauscher grabbing 8 rebounds, the Royal Lions outboarded the Green Wave 31-14.

Cody Jeralds added 6 points for St. Edward, but nobody else scored more than 4.

Ellis made 9 field goals and 8 of 9 free throws. The Wave shot 11-of-13 from the line but Rockford Christian was even better, making 15 of 19.