|
Nov. 26, 2003
Ellison boys win by the Gallon at Temple
From Staff Reports
TEMPLE Chris Gallon scored 26 points 10 in the fourth quarter to lead Ellison over Temple 65-56 Tuesday.
Matthew Addison scored 14 points and Chris Montgomery added 13 more to bolster the Eagles,
who blew open a 45-45 game with a 20-11 fourth quarter.
''That was a great win on the road," Ellison coach Davis Manley
said. "Our post people came up big down the stretch for us."
Gallon, the sole remaining starter from last year's 35-2
regional finalist, scored the majority of his points in the paint as Ellison (1-1) dropped the Wildcats to 2-1 on the year.
Dec. 3, 2003
Wildcats work hard to bring down Eagles
BY EVAN REN
Herald Staff Writer
Following a 65-56 loss to Ellison on Nov. 25, Temple boys basketball coach Bruce Etheridge looked at the approaching rematch
with the Eagles, and forced his team to make a pledge: Compete for everything, and don't give an inch.
The angry,
yet simplistic idea paid off Tuesday, as his Wildcats took a 63-54 win from the Ellison High School gym.
Etheridge,
whose team was manhandled on the offensive glass in Game 1, reversed the trend, outrebounding the Eagles 41-37, including
17 offensive boards.
With the win Temple (4-1) dropped Ellison to 1-2 on the year, matching the Eagles' loss total
for the entire 2002-2003 season which saw them finish 35-2.
"This was the tale of two games," Etheridge said. "When
we played them in Temple, they killed us on the offensive glass.
"But tonight we made up our minds that we were going
to compete for every loose ball and every call, and that's exactly what we did."
Tony Troup led the Wildcats with 16
points, while Ronnie Martin and Juan Yaquian added 13 each for Temple, which erased a 19-11 first-quarter deficit by consistently
beating the Eagles to the punch.
The extra effort wasn't lost on Ellison coach David Manley, who quickly pointed to
the boards as a key.
"It was the difference in the game, no question," he said. "They hurt us on the offensive glass
and because of that, they not only got second-chance opportunities but they got to the line more than we did."
A lot
more.
Temple, which led 46-44 heading into the final stanza, expanded its advantage largely at the free-throw line,
hitting 14-of-28 attempts on the night.
Ellison, by comparison, was 3-of-11.
"They were the more physical team
tonight," Manley said. "We started out shooting well, but when it came to getting a stop defensively, we would either miss
a block out or they would hit a shot."
"They also beat us to the loose balls ... I'd say they got 70 percent of those."
Leading
53-50 with 2:24 left to play, Temple put the game out of reach with a 6-0 spurt in a two-minute span, featuring two free throws
from Troup, and layups by Yaquian and Martin.
Ellison, which had shot a respectable 19-of-40 through three quarters,
suddenly went cold down the stretch, hitting only four of its final 23 shots.
"We missed a bunch of shots late," Manley
said. "We missed some chippies too."
Ellison was led by Mathew Addison with 17 points.
Deontri Levi had eight and Chris Gallon added seven.
"Ellison is very quick and very athletic inside," Etheridge said.
"But we were determined to match their effort and intensity and that was the difference tonight."
Dec. 4, 2003
Everybody into the pool: Killeen Classic has a new twist
BY EVAN REN
Herald Staff Writer
Killeen High School boys basketball coach Bo Burgess gives no pretense about directing this week's 17th Annual Killeen
Classic basketball tournament, an event he founded in 1987.
It is no longer a labor of love for him it's simply labor.
Yet
the Classic, which gets under way this evening in the Killeen, Ellison and Harker Heights high school gyms, is showing no
signs of slowing down under Burgess' leadership.
In fact, it's beginning to evolve, having adopted a pool-play format
for the first time in its history this year.
"We sent out our invitations in February," Burgess said. "But every year
we run into problems and we never get things finalized until October."
Featuring a field of 12 teams, the Classic will
be broken into three divisions or "pools" of four teams each.
Pool 1, which will play all of its games at Killeen High
School, will include Burgess' Kangaroo squad (2-4), 3A No. 19 Dallas Madison (1-1), 5A Round Rock (2-5) and 5A No. 13 Longview
(6-1).
Pool 2, which will be hosted by Harker Heights (0-5), will also feature 5A San Angelo Central (2-2), 3A Hempstead
(1-4) and 5A Belton (2-1). In Pool 3, Ellison (1-2) will host 4A Terrell (4-1), 5A Bryan (5-2) and 5A Dallas Samuell (2-2).
Longview,
with Division I prospects Raymond Hicks (6-foot-7, 220 pounds, 23.0 points, 16.4 rebounds) and Anthony Reese (6-2, 180, 22.1
ppg.) figures to be the team to beat.
"Its a great opportunity to play quality teams," Bryan coach John Reese said.
"There are teams from all over the state coming in, so it gives us a chance to see a lot of different styles."
Pool
play will begin this evening with Killeen facing Round Rock, Heights playing host to San Angelo Central, and Ellison going
against Terrell.
All three games are scheduled for 6 p.m., with Longview/Dallas Madison, Belton/Hempstead and Bryan/Dallas
Samuell slated for 7:30.
"This is going to be a real challenge for us," Madison coach Ellis Kidd said. "With us being
a 3A school and there being good 4A and 5A programs in the tournament, it gives us a chance to play some teams that really
know how to play."
Pool play will continue Friday morning at 9, with Killeen facing Dallas Madison at 10:30 and Longview
at 7:30 p.m.
Heights will go against Hempstead at 10:30 a.m. and Belton at 6 p.m., while Ellison will host Dallas Samuell
at 10:30 a.m. and Bryan at 6.
Saturday in the Killeen High School gym, the winners of pools 2 and 3 will meet in the
third-place game at 10:30 a.m. The winner of that game will face the Pool 1 champ in the title game at 4:30.
The second-place
teams in pools 2 and 3 will meet in the consolation round at 9 a.m. The winner of that contest will face the second-place
team from Pool 1 in the consolation championship at 3.
"This is the tournament that I played in back when I was a kid
at Killeen High School," Heights coach Celneque Bobbitt said. "Last year we tasted some success, finishing second.
"This
year, if we improve what we've been working on, maybe it will be our coming out party. But we'll definitely have our work
cut out for us."
Dec. 5, 2003
Defensive effort not perfect, but Eagles still win
BY EVAN REN
Herald Staff Writer
When asked to assess his team's defensive effort after a 55-44 victory Thursday over Terrell, Ellison coach David Manley
estimated it at roughly 50 percent.
Manley, however, who remains dissatisfied with his team's intensity and effort
on the glass, got just enough of both to open the Killeen Classic with a win, improving his Eagles' to 2-2.
Deontra
Levi scored 13 points, Chris Gallon scored 12 and Matthew Addison added 11 more to lead Ellison,
which hosts Dallas Samuell today at 10:30 a.m. in Pool No. 3.
Terrell (4-2) will face Bryan in a 9 a.m. game, also
at Ellison.
"Our hope is that the kids will buy into the fact that (defense) is what it is going to win games," Manley
said. "We have to defend and rebound."
Early on, the Eagles managed to do both holding Terrell to 4-of-16 shooting
in the first half (25 percent) and outrebounding the Tigers 18-7 to build a 29-15 halftime lead.
Ellison's effort
on the glass helped its transition game as well, leading to a 12-of-21 shooting effort in the first half, with five of those
buckets coming via layups.
"It took us too long to adjust to how the game was being played," Terrell coach Willie Coulter
said. "The officials were allowing it to be physical, and it took us a while to play that way."
While Terrell made
its adjustments, Ellison's defensive effort, according to Manley, dropped off considerably.
As a result, the Tigers
reduced a 14-point deficit to nine with a 13-8 run in the third period, hitting six of 13 shots from the floor (46.1 percent)
their best shooting quarter of the night.
Terrell continued to press the issue in the final period, cutting the gap
to 45-37 with 2:43 left to play with a 3-pointer from Jacobi Jackson.
"We've got a lot of work to do defensively,"
Manley said. "But if we can just get ourselves to play as hard as we can play, then we can be a good team."
Despite
the lackluster effort, Ellison did manage to find salvation at the free-throw line.
Forced to foul in order to save
time on the clock, Terrell pushed Ellison into the double-bonus at the three-minute mark of the fourth, where the Eagles buried
six straight free throws in a 32-second span for a 51-37 lead.
Four of the six charity shots were hit by Jayme Price,
after which, Terrell never closed to within 10 points again.
"It was a strange game,'' Manley said. "Terrell got off
to a bad start, but then they started playing well.
"I think they're a much better team than what they showed tonight."
Dec. 6, 2003
Eagles ride smothering defense into semifinals
BY EVAN REN
Herald Staff Writer
From the season's outset, Ellison boys basketball coach David Manley has been lamenting about the defensive play of his
Eagles, or rather, the lack thereof.
Yet with Friday's sweep of Dallas Samuell and Bryan, it was obvious that the Eagles
had begun to hear the message, holding the two teams to a combined 17-of-79 shooting (21.5 percent) to take the Pool 3 championship
of the Killeen Classic.
Opening with a 50-22 whipping of 5A Samuell in a second-round morning game, the Eagles followed
that with a 56-40 win over 5A Bryan, a team which had already notched wins over Terrell and Samuell in pool play.
"The
reason we played so well is because we got a total team effort," Manley said. "We didn't talk about winning or losing, we
just talked about playing harder than the other team."
The Eagles (3-0, pool play, 4-2 overall) now advance to face
Pool 2 champion Belton today in a 10:30 a.m. game at Killeen High School. The winner will face Pool 1 champ Longview in the
tournament championship at 4:30, also at Killeen.
Ellison 56, Bryan 40 At Ellison, the Eagles got 11 points from Matthew Addison and nine more from Chris Gallon to drop Bryan to 2-1 in
pool play and 7-3 overall.
Tied at 11 after the first quarter, Ellison took control of the game with an 11-2 run midway
through the second, getting five field goals from five separate players in a four-minute span.
Substituting en masse
roughly every two minutes, Ellison maintained a double-digit lead until the break, hitting the locker room with a 32-22 edge.
The
Vikings cut the gap to 32-26 with a pair of putbacks from Justin Ellis early in the third quarter, but they would never get
any closer.
Ellison then proceeded to put Bryan on the ropes, ripping through the Vikings' full-court pressure with
a 13-4 spurt over the next four minutes. Once again, offensive balance played a big role, with six different Eagles scoring
field goals during the run.
"They stopped us from running and they handled our pressure pretty well," Bryan coach John
Reese said. "We also missed a ton of shots tonight, and some of those were at point-blank range."
To be exact, the
Vikings missed 33 of 47 shots from the field, for a rather dismal 29.7-percent clip.
Down
47-32 heading into the fourth, Bryan hit but three of its final 13 shots, and trailed by as much as 19 when an Addison layup
gave the Eagles a 51-32 lead with 6:58 to play.
Also contributing for Ellison were Taurren Miller
with eight points, Deontra Levi with seven and Lawrence Baskett with six.
Addison led
the Eagles on the glass with six boards, followed by Gallon, Baskett, Betaile Hawkins and Chris Montgomery
with four each. Ellison outboarded Bryan as a team, 35-27.
Ellison 50, Dallas Samuell 22 At Ellison, the Eagles used
a suffocating man-to-man defense to blow out Samuell, limiting the Spartans to a horrendous 3-of-32 effort (9.3 percent) from
the floor.
Ellison, which led 11-2 at the end of the first quarter and 22-12 at the break, held Samuell to 1-of-16
shooting (6.2 percent) in the first half, with 10 of the Spartans' points coming from second-quarter free throws.
Gallon
scored 12 points, Addison scored 11 and Montgomery added 10 more to pace
the Eagles.
"Ellison really pressured the passing lanes, which gave us a lot of trouble," said Samuell coach Darius
Brown, a graduate of Ellison who played on the school's 1993 state semifinalist team. "We were stagnant offensively, but I
can't take anything away from Ellison."
Leading by 10 at the outset of the second half, the Eagles blew the game open
with a 17-7 run through the third period. Addison provided the impetus for the spurt, scoring 10 points, including two 3-pointers.
Ellison
maintained the momentum heading into final stanza, holding Samuell to an 0-for-5 shooting effort over the last eight minutes.
"No
doubt, this was our best defensive game so far,'' Manley said. "I thought our defensive rebounding and blocking out were excellent
also."
Indeed, they were.
Ellison, which held a 39-23 rebounding advantage, including a 13-8 edge on the offensive
glass, was led by Betaile Hawkins with six boards and Montgomery with five.
Samuell fell to 0-2 in pool play and 2-4
overall with the loss. The Spartans were led by Michael Williams and Travian Lewis with five points each.
Herald/STEVE TRAYNOR
Ellison's Matthew Addison dives for a loose ball against Longview's Raymond Hicks in the second half of the Eagles' 61-54 loss to the Lobos in the championship
game of the Killeen Classic.
Dec. 7, 2003
No. 13 Longview defeats Ellison for title
BY EVAN REN
Herald Staff Writer
For the first six minutes of Saturday's Killeen Classic championship game, the Ellison boys basketball team resembled a
herd of deer standing in the headlights of 13th-ranked 5A Longview.
Rattled by the Lobos' 2-2-1 trapping defense, the
Eagles found themselves down 18-5 by the 1:54 mark of the first quarter, and never fully recovered in a 61-54 loss.
Anthony
Reese scored 19 points and tournament MVP Ray Hicks scored 17 more to lead Longview (10-1), which was outscored 49-43 by Ellison
after the initial onslaught.
"Early on, we were a little intimidated," Ellison coach David Manley said. "Then our guys
settled down and figured out that if they do what they had to do, they had a chance."
That became apparent as early
as the second quarter, when Ellison (5-3) closed to within six points on a Chris Gallon layup with 3:33 left in the half.
The Eagles, who trailed 32-23 at the break, remained within 10 for the bulk of the third quarter, cutting
the gap to 45-38 when Matthew Addison hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"Coach Manley is
the biggest sandbagger in the world and he's always saying how terrible his team is," Longview coach John Martin said. "But
we knew he had a good group of kids and that it would be important for us to get off to a fast start tonight."
That
and a dash of resiliency helped the Lobos as well.
With Ellison cutting the lead to five twice during the fourth quarter
and to four on a layup by Deontra Levi with 20 seconds remaining, Longview answered each spurt with a run of its own.
A
free throw by Hicks with 15 seconds left and two more from Reese, who was fouled after rebounding Hicks' miss on the second
shot, proved to be the clincher.
"Ellison was very disciplined," Martin said. "They did a good job of handling our
pressure once they settled in."
Ellison was led by Gallon with 14 points and
Addison with 13, both of whom, along with Harker Heights' Marquis Newby and Killeen's Jorge Quinones were named
to the all-tournament team.
Reese was named as well, as was Longview's Jairus Rockmore.
Ellison
56, Belton 47 At Killeen High School, Ellison used a solid defensive effort to advance to the Killeen Classic title game for
the second straight year.
Limiting Belton to 16-of-51 (31.3 percent) shooting from the floor, the Eagles took full
advantage of Belton guard Ramonce Taylor's absence, holding the Tigers to only 11 field goals through the first three quarters.
Taylor,
who has been averaging better than 21 points per game, was taking his SAT and was unable to attend. As a result, Ellison could
afford to put extra attention on Tiger point man Matt Braeuer, and that's exactly what it did.
"Them not having Taylor
was a huge factor in the game," Ellison coach David Manley said. "It allowed us to really concentrate on (Braeuer), but if
Taylor had been here, we may not have been able to help out as much."
Despite the added attention, Braeuer still managed
to collect a game-high 23 points, hitting eight of the Tigers' 16 field goals.
The lack of production from his supporting
cast eventually hurt Belton, particularly in the third quarter, where as a team, the Tigers hit only three of 13 shots.
Ellison,
in the meantime, which had been frustrated by Belton's 3-2 zone through two quarters, began to find the range. Addison hit two 3-pointers and Anthony Abdullah hit another, keying an 18-6 run which gave
the Eagles a 42-30 edge heading into the fourth.
"We really didn't make any (adjustments)," said Manley, whose Eagles
hit only 7-of-35 first-half shots (20 percent). "The only thing we did at halftime was tell the kids to shoot it with confidence.
"I
told them sometimes you'll hit it, sometimes you won't, but you've just got to put a stroke on it and do the best you can."
Forced
out of its zone by the deficit, Belton switched to full-court defensive pressure in the fourth and immediately began making
headway.
Getting 10 fourth-quarter points from Braeuer, the Tigers used a 17-9 run through the first seven minutes
of the fourth to cut the gap to 51-47 with 54 seconds to play.
Belton, however, wouldn't score again, as Ellison, behind
five clutch free throws from Jayme Price, put the game away in the final minute.
Price, a 5-foot-6 sophomore, canned
the last pair with just 15 seconds remaining, sealing the win.
"I thought we played hard and did a lot of good things,''
said Belton coach Ed Braeuer. "Ramonce would have made a difference on the offensive end, but that's no excuse.
"Ellison
just beat us."
Addison led the Eagles with 18 points. Price had
seven, followed by Gallon and Montgomery with six each.
With the loss, Belton finished third in the tournament with
a 3-1 mark, and dropped to 6-3 on the year.
Taylor and Matt Brauer were both named to the all-tournament team, as were
Bryan's Gerard Carter, and Round Rock's Jordan Danks.
Bryan earned fourth place in the tournament, defeating Round
Rock in the consolation championship.
EVAN REN: What was good about
the Classic, and just one suggestion
Here are two things that made
this year's Killeen Classic a treat to watch, and one thing that would have made it even better:
n First: pool play.
Bo
Burgess' idea to switch from a cumbersome bracket format to a round-robin was perhaps the best move the event has ever seen.
Not
only did most of the games have significance, but every team had a predictable schedule, allowing the players, coaches and
fans to plan their day.
"I don't know why I didn't think of this years ago," Burgess said. "Everybody I talked to loved
the pool play.
"We should have run it this way all along."
n Second: the emergence
of Ellison.
Coming into the Classic with a 1-2 record, the Eagles had every reason to doubt themselves.
That's
over.
Ellison (5-3), which took four of five games in the classic and earned its second straight appearance in the
title game, has now been identified as a formidable outfit.
Coach David Manley has the Eagles playing his style of
basketball, featuring a rock-solid man-to-man defense and an opportunistic offense which runs, but not for the sake of running.
There is also an unyielding focus on rebounding and hard work, which has seen Ellison win 20 or more games in nine straight
seasons.
Manley's methods may look ugly, but they work, and watching the Eagles heed his instruction this week was
like visiting a coaches clinic.
n Third: Bobbitt is back
Despite suffering through an 0-5
start, Harker Heights coach Celneque Bobbitt was in rare form Saturday after guiding the Knights to a 2-2 tournament mark
and a sixth--place finish.
The always-dapper Bobbitt, who warned that the Classic could be a "coming out party" for
the Knights, proved correct after posting wins over San Angelo Central and Hempstead, and remaining competitive with 5A powers Belton and Bryan.
Alas, it now appears that the Knights
are a team to be taken seriously in District 17-4.
This is good for both Heights and local basketball in general, because
when coaching in games of significance, Bobbitt's act is absolutely priceless.
The guy is good for local hoops, but
he's even better when he is on center stage.
n What's lacking: Shoemaker.
Yes, Shoemaker was missing from the
event an absence which not only cost the tournament a fourth pool and a field of 16 teams, but it also stripped the Classic
of Killeen's most talented team.
Grey Wolf coach Rick Kirkpatrick, not wanting to face any squad from Killeen three times in one season, elected to take his squad to The Pride of Texas tournament in Corpus Christi instead.
It is not my intention to vilify Kirkpatrick here, who is both a fine coach and a true gentleman.
He, along with a multitude of his peers, don't like playing district teams three times in one season a dubious scenario made
possible by the Killeen event.
Kirkpatrick feels, and rightly so, that it is difficult to beat
any team three times in one season, a disadvantage which could cost the Grey Wolves in a playoff race they are favored to
win.
OK, fine, many people can respect a decision like that, myself included.
Regardless, Kirkpatrick's program
was sorely missed and the 16-team field it would have provided would have made this tournament, well, a classic.
Dec. 10, 2003
Ellison shoots
out the lights in big win
By Evan Ren
Killeen
Daily Herald
If one were to check the nets in the Ellison High School gym at this moment, they may still be smoldering.
That's
no exageration in the wake of the Eagles' 80-44 rout of Copperas Cove on Tuesday, a game in which the Eagles shot a blistering
68.8 percent from the floor including nine 3-pointers.
Matthew Addison scored 18 points
and Chris Gallon added 16 more to pace Ellison (6-3) which posted its largest margin of victory this season, while handing
Cove its worst defeat.
"We shot the ball well, executed pretty well offensively, and took what they gave us," Ellison
coach David Manley said. "I thought we did a good job of going inside-out with the ball and when there wasn't a chance for
a post shot, we created some open 3 opportunities."
Four of those 3s came in the third quarter, when Ellison expanded
a 35-17 halftime lead to 58-34 heading into the final stanza.
Addison hit two of his
four treys in the third; Deontra Levi added another, as did Raymond King.
"We have to shoot a
certain a number of 3s each game to open up our inside game," Manley said. "Even if we don't make them, we have to shoot them
to have some balance offensively."
Cove, in the meantime, which hit only 6-of-21 first-half shots, finished a frosty
13-of-44 from the field (29.5 percent) the third opponent the Eagles have held to under 30 percent shooting in its last four
games.
The Bulldawgs (3-6) compounded their trouble with 18 turnovers, 13 of which were created by Ellison steals.
"Ellison
did a tremendous job," Copperas Cove coach Chris Graham said. "Ellison is a prime example of how we want to play on defense.
"Coach
Manley is a great coach, I love what he does, and we're going to use them as an example of what we want to do defensively."
Ellison
continued with its hot hand through the fourth quarter, with Addison, Levi, and Shamarri Miller all connecting from beyond
the arc.
The Eagles also notched three layups during the fourth, finishing with 12 on the night.
"We're getting
better every week," Manley said. "I really thought we might come out flat tonight because we played five games in less than
48 hours over the weekend.
"But we came out and really executed well."
For Cove, Joe Soloman was the leading
scorer with 13, followed by Jake Schutter with 10 and Jermaine Marsh with eight. Soloman connected on three 3-pointers, two
of which came in the third quarter. 
Dec. 12, 2003
San Antonio ISD Tournament
Ellison 57, San Antonio Jefferson 48 At San Antonio, the Eagles used a strong fourth quarter to win their first-round
game at the San Antonio ISD Tournament.
Chris Montgomery led the way with 23 points as Ellison (7-3) outscored Jefferson 17-6 in the fourth quarter to pull out
the win.
Matthew Addison hit three 3-pointers en route to 13 points for the Eagles,
who play again today at 3 p.m. against San Antonio Southwest.
December 13, 2003
Class 5A San Antonio Southwest routs Ellison
From Staff Reports
SAN ANTONIO At the San Antonio ISD tournament, 6-foot-6 Pat Britton,
who has already committed to Rice, scored 15 points to pace third-ranked 5A San Antonio Southwest (13-2) to an easy 55-36
win over Ellison.
Juwaan Hall and Ronnie Barney added 12 and 10 points respectively for the Dragons, who dropped Ellison
to 7-4 on the year.
Leading 16-12 at the end of the first quarter, Southwest tightened up defensively to outscore
the Eagles 15-6 in the second frame.
The Dragons continued to put the heat on Ellison in the second half, holding them
to only 18 points in the final 16 minutes for a season-low in offensive output.
The
Eagles were led by Matt Addison with 13 and Chris Montgomery with eight.
"We played a great team
tonight," Ellison coach David Manley said. "We'll get better because of it."
December 20, 2003
From Staff Reports
Waco boys 90, Ellison 86, 20T At Waco, Matthew Addison scored a game-high 29 points
and Chris Montgomery added 20 of his own, but it wasn't enough as the Lions brought down the Eagles in double overtime.
Waco
was up 35-33 at the half, but Ellison (8-5) came back to send it into overtime. Both teams scored six points in the first
OT, but the Lions found a way to outscore the Eagles 14-10 in the second.
Torey Degrate hit five 3-pointers and had
27 points to lead Waco. Carl Sims put in 17 points, and both Kevin Carter and LeQuantum McDonald had 11.
Deontra Levi
was the only other EHS player in double figures with 12 points.
Dec. 30, 2003
Defending champ Ellison off to good start in M.T. Rice tourney
From Staff Reports
HEWITT Chris Gallon scored 18 points and Chris Montgomery added 17 as Ellison, the defending M.T. Rice Holiday Tournament
champion, defeated Corsicana 67-53 in the first round of the tournament Monday.
The Eagles (9-5) also got 10 points
from Deontra Levi.
Doug Johnson led Corsicana with 13 points.
The Eagles outscored Corsicana in every quarter
and led 35-27 at halftime.
Later Monday, Levi scored 13 points in Ellison's 50-42 win over Magnolia. Montgomery added
10 and Gallon finished with nine.
Chris Cote was Magnolia's only scorer in double figures with 18 points.
Ellison
will play an opponent to be determined tonight at 9 p.m.
Dec. 31, 2003
Ellison returns to M.T. Rice title game
HEWITT After a close call against Hewitt Midway on Tuesday the Ellison boys basketball team
is headed into a finals matchup with Waco High in the M. T. Rice Tournament at Waco Midway Arena today at 3 p.m.
The
defending tourney champ Eagles edged Midway 37-34.
Deontra Levi led Ellison (11-5) with 10 points and Matthew Addison added nine. Chris Gallon and Chris Montgomery tossed in six apiece.
Chris
Gross had a game-high 11 points for the Panthers. Michael Gross finished with 10.
Midway led the game 18-17 after
the first half, but Ellison exploded for 14 points after the break to take its first lead of the game and, despite being outscored
9-6 in the finale, managed to hold on for the win.
Assistant coach Mark Minatrea said the Eagles had some close calls
in the tournament, but nothing like what they faced against the Panthers.
"In our first game of the tournament we had
everything in hand," Minatrea said. "In our second game (against Corsicana) it was kind of close but we were in control. Tonight
the game could have gone either way."
Today's title game should be an interesting rematch. Waco outlasted the Eagles
90-84 in double-overtime on Dec. 19.
Eagles run out of gas in M.T. Rice final
By Tony Altobelli
Killeen Daily Herald
HEWITT The "fuel tank" light came on all
at once for the Ellison Eagle boys basketball team.
Playing their fourth game in three days, the Eagles hung tough
with the Waco Lions, but hot shooting and fatigue got the best of them and they lost 68-54 Wednesday in the finals of the
M.T. Rice/Masterfoods USA Holiday Basketball Tournament.
"This tournament is only going to make us a better team,"
Ellison coach David Manley said. "We got tired in the second half and we got hurt by offensive rebounds. Waco played great
in the second half and shot well."
To say the least. Trailing 39-32 with 5:50 left in the third quarter, Waco's offense
came to life, hitting 12 of its next 20 shots (60 percent) and outscoring the Eagles (11-6) by 21 the rest of the way.
LaQuantum
McDonald led the second-half charge for the Lions, scoring 12 of his team-high 18 points in the final two quarters. Torey
DeGrate and Carl Sims each scored 12, and C.J. Richards added 10.
Ellison, the defending tourney champion, was led
by Chris Gallon (16 points, seven rebounds, four blocks) and Matthew Addison (11 points).
Hoping
to avenge a double-overtime loss to the Lions back on Dec. 19, the Eagles came out strong and led the entire first half, thanks
in large part to strong inside play from Gallon and Chris Montgomery.
Waco stayed close with aggressive, penetrating
offense, which drew numerous fouls and trips to the free-throw line. For the game, Waco was 15-of-28 from the line, while
Ellison made 4-of-8.
Leading by two after one quarter, Ellison's lead grew to seven before Waco closed out the half
with a 5-0 run.
The Eagles hung tough and reopened a seven-point advantage when the roof caved in. Waco ended the quarter
with a 17-3 run and opened the fourth quarter with a 17-5 run to blow the game open.
"Despite the loss, I still like
the way we played in this tournament," Manley said. "Now we've got to get ready for the 14 games that count."
Next
up, the Eagles open District 17-4A play at Taylor on Saturday night at 8.
11-26-2003
Ellison uses late run to slip past Temple
It was halfway through
the third quarter, and the Temple boys basketball team was outplaying Killeen Ellison in the Wildcats first home game of the
season. A tough reverse lay-in by Cameron Davis off a pass from Juan Yaquian gave Temple a 38-31 lead, and the Wildcats seemed
likely to hand an Eagles program that lost only two games last season its second in as many games this season. But then Ellison
took over. Using their advantage inside and benefiting from Temple turnovers, the Eagles closed the third quarter with a 14-7
run and scored 16 of the games final 21 points to record a 65-56 win at noisy Wildcat Gym. Tall, lanky Ellison posts Chris
Gallon and Chris Montgomery dominated shorter Temple the interior especially in the games final 12 minutes and finished with
22 and 13 points, respectively. In fact, Gallon scored five baskets and Montgomery three during the fourth quarter. They were
too strong for us inside, and our post defense was non-existent, said Temple coach Bruce Etheridge, whose teams record fell
to 2-1. We could not control them, and that came back to haunt us. Seniors Brian Johnson and Josh Bass led the Wildcats with
10 points apiece, juniors Freddie Kirkwood and Ronnie Martin each had eight, and junior Ricky Phillips scored seven. I thought
Johnson kept us in the ballgame in the first half, Etheridge said. And Ricky did an outstanding job off the bench. Im real
proud of how he played. Matthew Addison chipped in with 14 points for
Ellison (1-1), which went 35-2 and recahed the Class 4A Region III championship game last season. Temple took an early 7-4
lead on a 3-pointer by Bass, but Gallon scored a pair of inside hoops and a three-point play
by Addison with less than a second left gave the Eagles an 18-10 advantage after one quarter. The Wildcats
picked up their play in the second, playing tighter defense and using baskets by Davis, Johnson, and Kirkwood, and a Kirkwood
3 to get close before Martin hit two free throws to put Temple up 27-26 in the halfs final minute. Addisons
reverse lay-up with six seconds left supplied Ellison with a 28-27 edge at the break. Close-in baskets
by Bass and Johnson and Davis off-balance score helped the Wildcats race out to a 38-31 lead four minutes into the third quarter,
but Gallon and Montgomery answered that run with back-to-back baskets. Though Brandon Howard (six assists) nailed a 3 to put
Temples lead at 43-39, Ellison forged a 45-45 tie by the end of the third. A 15-foot baseline jumper by Martin gave the Cats
their last lead at 51-49 with 5:48 left, but it was all Eagles after that. They wrapped two Montgomery baskets around two
by Gallon, and Addison hit a long jumper for a 59-51 Ellison lead. Temple
answered briefly on a 3 by Martin, but the Eagles then sealed their win on baskets by Gallon,
Montgomery, and Addison as the Wildcats struggled to come up with stops on defense and good shots on
offense. Right now, its a matter of finding the right combination of guys to put in the game, Etheridge said. We have depth,
but tonight that was more of a curse than a strength. But Ellison is a playoff team, and well take this lesson and bounce
back. Temple next will host Dallas Woodrow Wilson at 3 p.m. Saturday at Wildcat Gym. by Greg Wille
12-03-2003
Wildcats rally
past Eagles, avenge lone loss
KILLEEN Turnabout was fair play for the Temple boys basketball team against rival
Killeen Ellison on Tuesday night. A week after they let a third-quarter lead slip away and lost 65-56 to the Eagles in their
home opener, the Wildcats overcame a halftime deficit and played a strong fourth quarter to earn a 63-54 win at Ellisons gym.
We just competed for every possession, said Temple coach Bruce Etheridge, whose team improved its record to 4-1. Our guys
were competitive tonight. We were not in the fourth quarter (against Ellison) at our place. Its a good win for us to beat
a good, solid program. The Wildcats got 15 points from Tony Troup, 14 from Juan Yaquian, and 13 from Ronnie Martin. Guards
Cameron Davis and Brandon Howard scored only seven and three points, respectively, but they had a combined 11 assists and
did not commit a turnover. Matthew Addison scored 17 points for Ellison (1-2),
which suffered because Temple didnt allow tall, long Eagle posts Chris Gallon and Chris Montgomery to control the game the
way they did at Wildcat Gym. Last week Gallon scored 22 points and Montgomery 13; in the rematch Gallon was limited to nine
points and Montgomery to four. We went into a matchup zone (defense) that bothered them, and we saved it until the fourth
quarter, Etheridge said. Ellison raced out to a 19-11 lead after one quarter, and it was up 31-27 at halftime. But the Wildcats
outscored the Eagles 18-13 in the third to grab a 45-44 advantage, and Temple tallied 17 points and held Ellison to only 10
in the final eight minutes to get the win and some revenge. It was our first game at our home gym (against Ellison last week),
and we just felt like we didnt play well, Etheridge said. But we feel good about this one. Temple next will compete in the
San Antonio ISD Tournament at 10:30 a.m. Friday against San Antonio Lee. If the Wildcats win, theyll play the San Antonio
OConnor-Smithson Valley winner at 6 p.m. Friday.
San Antonio ISD Tournament
ELLISON 57, JEFFERSON 48
Killeen Ellison: Chris Montgomery
23, Matthew Addison 13, Hawkins 6, Levi 4, Abdullah 3, Gallon 2, Huncherick
2, S. Miller 2, T. Miller 2, King, Price.
Jefferson: Michael Reece 14, Ryan Ladson 12, Robert Davila 10, Lopez 4, S. Garcia 4, Martinez 2, Duncan 2, M. Garcia, Leal, Smith.
Halftime: Killeen Ellison 23, Jefferson 22.
San Antonio ISD Tournament
SOUTHWEST 55, KILLEEN ELLISON 36
Southwest: Patrick Britton 15, Ronnie Barney 12, Jaawan Hall 12, Ramirez 9, Jones 3, Pastrano 2, Garza 2, Alonso,
Garzes, Tijerina.
Killeen Ellison: Matthew Addison 13, Montgomery 8, Levi 7, T. Miller
4, Gallon 4, Price, King, S. Miller, Hawkins, Ramos, Abdullah, Smith, Hunchrick.
Halftime: Southwest 31, Ellison 18.
San Antonio ISD Tournament
KILLEEN ELLISON 53, SAM HOUSTON 37
Killeen Ellison: Matthew Addison 10, Montgomery 9, T. Miller 9, Gallon 8, S. Miller
7, Faulkner 5, Hawkins 4, Levi 1, Price, King, Huncherick, Baskett.
Sam Houston: Dannie Woods 13, T. Robinson 9, Massey 7, Hopkins 2, Campbell 2, Kirk 2, Ross 1, B. Robinson 1, Nicholas,
Taylor.
Halftime: Killeen Ellison 32, Sam Houston 18.
Records: Killeen Ellison 8-4, Sam Houston 4-8.
December 20, 2003
Waco High outlasts Ellison in double OTBy BRICE CHERRY Tribune-Herald staff writer
Waco High boys basketball coach Newton Grimes has been coaching long enough to know you don't complain about a win, no
matter how ugly it is.
The Lions mixed enough flashes of brilliance to overcome their frequent turnovers and lapses in judgment, pulling out a
90-86 double-overtime victory over Killeen Ellison on Friday afternoon in a see-saw duel of former district rivals at the
WHS Gym.
"We've got a good team," said Grimes, whose squad improves to 9-5 with the win. "What we really do a great job in is our
dedication and hustle and ability to come back. But what I think a lot of people don't realize is how young we are. We've
got a lot of juniors and even though some of them played last year, they still do some things that young players do sometimes."
That youthfulness manifested itself in both positive and negative ways for Waco High throughout the game. At the outset,
it was all good for the Lions, who jumped out to a 13-0 lead six minutes in behind a hyperactive transition game.
But the Eagles (8-5) clawed back with strong play in the post, pulling to within 20-16 after a quarter and 35-33 by halftime.
"One thing we've got to do a better job of is when we get off to a start like we did tonight, we can't have that sag we
had in the second and third quarters," Grimes said. "We let our feelings get hurt, and let them get right back in it."
Ellison did more than get back in it the Eagles seized control in the second half. Ellison pulled out to an eight-point
lead at 66-58 with three minutes to play after picking apart the Lion defense numerous times for easy layups.
But the Lions awoke in the final moments of regulation, getting a big jolt from senior guard Torey Degrate, who tied for
the top-scorer honors in the game with 29 points. Degrate capitalized on a Lion offensive rebound to drain a three-pointer
from the corner with just over a minute to play, then buried another huge trey from the top of the key that tied the game
with less than 30 ticks on the clock.
The score was 70-70 after regulation, leading to a four-minute overtime period. Waco High seemingly took control by the
end of that extra period, grabbing a 76-74 lead with 13 seconds to play. But Ellison guard
Matthew Addison, who like Degrate scored 29 points, drove the length of the court and tossed in a running jumper with two
seconds left to send the game to a second overtime.
Waco High's post play proved to be the difference, as forwards Kevin Carter and Anthony Hicks each converted a couple of
big rebound follow shots in the second OT. A third big man, Lequantum McDonald, provided the capper on the 90-86 win when
he threw down a one-handed dunk on a sweet press-breaking pass from guard Carl Sims.
Though there were some rough patches in the game, Grimes was happy to be heading into next week's holiday break with a
win, particularly over Ellison, a team that went 35-2 last year and reached the Class 4A Region III finals but is rebuilding
with several new starters.
"Ellison's beaten some good people, so this is a nice win," Grimes said. "We've just got to play a learn to play a little
smarter, that's all."
Three other Lions scored in double figures besides Degrate, led by 21 from Sims. McDonald and Carter each chipped in 11,
while Hicks added nine. For the Eagles, Montgomery scored 20 points and Dee Levi added 12.
Waco High will take next week off for the Christmas holidays and then resume action in the M.T. Rice Tournament at Midway
on Dec. 29.
December 30, 2003
Ellison 57, Corsicana 43: Six-foot-five Chris Gallon and 6-6 Chris Montgomery proved
to be too tall of an order for the Tigers, as the post duo guided the defending tournament champion Eagles into the second
round.
Gallon topped all scorers with 18 points, while Montgomery chipped in 17 on a variety of easy put-backs and lay-ups. Ellison
(9-5) moved on to play Magnolia in the second round late Monday.
December 31, 2003
----Ellison 37, Midway 34----
Chris Montgomery came up with two key offensive rebounds and a steal in the final 15 seconds to propel the Eagles over
the host Panthers in a gritty defensive struggle.
"This was a good game for both teams, because it was like a district game," said Ellison coach David Manley, whose Eagles
(11-5) are seeking their second straight M.T. Rice title.
Midway (10-9) had a chance to attempt a game-tying three pointer with 2.6 seconds remaining, but Ben Coulter's long inbounds
heave was intercepted by Montgomery.
That sets up a Ellison-Waco High final, a rematch of a Dec. 19 game won by the Lions, 90-86, in double overtime. "I hope
it's a slower pace this time," Manley said. "That suits us better."
|
