St. Edward's Ellis nets career-high 38
St. Edward boys basketball coach P.J. White and senior Michael Ellis both said Wednesday they had no idea that Ellis was setting a career high in points.
Ellis wasn't forcing shots. The Green Wave ran its offense and it just worked out that the ball was in Ellis' hands. The guard scored 38 points as St. Edward beat Elgin Academy, 63-46, in Pool A action at the Fourth Annual Warrior Thanksgiving Basketball Classic at Westminster Christian.
"I was not counting. I was just out there playing hard," Ellis said. "Every night is going to be different, scoring is going to come. Coach was just like let it come to me. Tonight I just took what was there."
Ellis went 18 of 25 from the field, including 10 of 11 in the second half. He scored at least 8 points in each quarter.
"We're not looking at one person scoring," White said. "We're trying to make sure that everybody gets to score. When we play as a team, well you can see what happens when we play as a team (in the final three quarters)."
The Hilltoppers (0-2) jumped out to a 16-8 lead with 50 seconds left in the first quarter. Connor Flexman had 8 points and Jonathan Busano added 7 in the opening 8 minutes for Elgin Academy.
Ellis got St. Edward (2-0) within 6, 16-10, with a layup with 5 seconds left in the first quarter, sparking an eventual 32-4 run over the next 9 ½ minutes as the Green Wave took control.
"We're building to learn how to play fatigued because we're going to have to," said Hilltoppers coach David Vogt, whose team only had six players in uniform. "It's definitely a physical thing to try to still knock down your open jumpers when you are tired. But what we're trying to minimize is the mental errors."
The Green Wave turned the tide in the second quarter by going to a two-third court zone press, getting easy baskets off turnovers. Ellis and Edward O'Halloran each had 10 points in the second quarter. The lead was 20, 40-20, with 5:35 remaining in the third quarter. St. Edward led by as many as 25 in both the third and fourth quarters.
"The first quarter was a little rough," White said. "To the kids' credit, they fought back and played hard."
O'Halloran was the only other Green Wave player in double figures, scoring the 10 points in the second quarter. Ben Lehman helped St. Edward hold a 52-36 rebound advantage by grabbing 11 rebounds. Ellis added 9 boards.
The Green Wave will play host Westminster Christian (2-0) at 7 p.m. Friday with the winner advancing to Saturday's championship game.
Aaron Thomas led Elgin Academy with 18 points, all in the second half.