The Ellwood Christian Eagles were playing their third game in three days Saturday, but they showed no sign of fatigue against Isabella.

In a game that was never in doubt, Ellwood (8-11) rolled past the Isabella Mustangs at home Saturday night 61-32 to clinch the No. 2 seed in its area tournament. After falling a few points shy of a 26-point second-half comeback the night before against Wilcox Central, the Eagles kept the sense of urgency going throughout the game against Isabella.

“That situation from [Friday] night, I saw a lot of heart in my guys that we could build on momentum coming into area play,” said Ellwood head coach Darrell Walker.

Derrick Griffin and Rayford Mitchell each scored 14 points to lead Ellwood. The Eagles jumped out to an early lead with an aggressive defense that forced turnovers and a relentless effort to rebound the ball.

Just over halfway into the first quarter, Mitchell knocked down two free throws to give Ellwood a 10-4 advantage. Griffin made his first 3-pointer with 1:46 remaining in the first quarter to give the Eagles a 10-point lead, up 16-6.

Mitchell splashed a 3-pointer just a minute later to put Ellwood ahead 19-8.

Ellwood didn’t let up in the second quarter. Not even two minutes had ticked off the clock in the second quarter, and Ellwood was leading 28-11, sparked by a 9-0 run that ended with a Griffin 3-point shot.

Kendarius Watters gave Ellwood a 32-12 lead when he pulled down an offensive rebound and finished with a layup with 4:20 left in the first half. Ellwood led 34-18 at halftime.

Justin Buford took away Isabella’s hopes of starting the second half strong when he stole the inbound pass and took the ball right to the rim to double the Mustangs’ score 36-18. Tyre Webster added to the blowout when he knocked down a 3-pointer with 6:12 left in the third quarter to take a 43-18 lead.

With less than a minute remaining in the third quarter, Griffin found Mitchell for a layup, and Ellwood extended the lead to 55-22.

Rayshawn Simmons hit a layup early in the quarter to push the Ellwood lead to 58-31. Watters, who scores most of his points near the basket, gave fans something extra to cheer about when he knocked down a 3-pointer with time running out to put the Eagles up by 30 points.

Walker said that ever since Ellwood’s loss to Dallas County Jan. 16, he’s been pushing his players harder in practice to prepare them for tougher opponents down the stretch, including a return visit with Dallas County on Feb. 4.

Walker said something clicked for his players during Friday night’s loss to Wilcox, and he saw a team with renewed energy Saturday in the blowout win against Isabella.

“I know it’s the turning point,” Walker said.

 

Isabella 46, Ellwood 39 (girls)

The Ellwood Christian Eagles (0-19) had the game tied up at the end of the third quarter, but couldn’t close the deal against the Isabella Mustangs in a 46-39 loss Saturday at Ellwood.

Ellwood’s Shakeria White and Brianna Dower, who finished with 11 and 10 points respectively, each played a role in bringing the Eagles back, but Isabella made the necessary shots down the stretch to pull off the victory.

“Giving up, turnovers in crucial situations, that’s what we had,” said Ellwood head coach James Spears. “We came down five times with the score tied and we missed three layups. Two shots we just threw the ball up.”

Ellwood made it close in the first half. At the end of the first quarter, the game was tied 8-8. Monique Jones knocked down two two-point shots in the second quarter to keep the Eagles within five points at halftime, trailing just 22-17.

White and Dower each scored five points in the third quarter, as Ellwood rallied back to tie the game 31-31 with one quarter remaining.

Ellwood scored eight points in the fourth quarter. The Eagles sent Isabella’s Caley Booth to the free throw line numerous times, as Booth knocked down nine free throws in the fourth quarter alone. Booth finished with 18 free throws on the night.

Spears said he’s seen a great deal of improvement from his team since the last time it faced Isabella, but he wished his players played with more poise late in the game.

“They can’t give up because they get down by a couple of points,” Spears said.

Ellwood’s boys’ and girls’ teams host Prattville Christian Tuesday at 5 p.m.