After 22 turnovers cost Belton in a loss to Killeen Shoemaker on Tuesday, the Tigers regrouped and broke Killeen Ellison’s press defense with ease.
The Eagles countered by torching the nets for most of the third quarter as Ellison ran away from Belton for a 65-42 win in a District 13-5A boys basketball battle Thursday night.
“If we break the press against Shoemaker like we did tonight, we beat Shoemaker,” said first-year Belton coach John Osborn, whose team had 14 turnovers. “We went on a cold spell in the third quarter. I felt like we contested every one of their shots. They just made everything for about a 7-minute stretch.”
Added Ellison coach David Manley, whose team shot 9-for-16 in the third quarter: “We didn’t shoot it particularly well early and then we hit some shots when it mattered.”
Belton (6-11 overall) dropped to 0-2 in district play and has lost 30 straight district games dating to 2005. Ellison, which beat Harker Heights on Tuesday, improved to 14-3, 2-0.
With his team trailing 33-25 with 4:23 remaining in the third quarter, Osborn called timeout in an effort to rally his squad. Ellison responded by going on an 18-7 run to end the quarter and put Belton away.
Louis Crane connected on a 3 on the first possession after the timeout for a 36-25 lead. After Tigers guard Trey Lippincott’s three free throws made it 36-28, Crane and Zack Mims hit consecutive 3s for a 42-28 lead.
Mims and Robert Jones added two field goals apiece to close out the quarter.
Ellison’s outstanding shooting also had its effect on Belton’s offensive attack.
“Our other problem is we started settling for outside shots,” Osborn said, whose team connected on two of 13 shots in the third quarter. “Whereas before when we were sticking with them, we were really going strong to the basket. When they start hitting 3s, our guys kind of felt like we need to hit some 3s to match. That’s not the way you’ve got to look at it.
“If a team is hitting shots and we’re not hitting ours, you’ve got to go to the basket. Sometimes, you get in one of those situations where one team feels it and if you’re not feeling it right with them, things can go bad real quick.”
Manley said his defense did a great job shutting down Tigers all-district guard Lippincott, who scored 20 points against Shoemaker.
“I thought our kids did an excellent job,” Manley said, referring to holding Lippincott to eight points on 2-of-7 shooting. “We tried to really guard him because he’s a special player and not let him kill us.”
Crane connected on four 3s and led all scorers with 18 points, while Mims and James added seven each. Reserve Jones scored six points and pleased Manley with his performance.
“(Robert) Jones came off the bench and played some huge minutes for us,” Manley said. “Just a solid game and you’ve got to have guys come in and do that and I thought Jones did a great job of that tonight.”
Giovanni Dunn led Belton with 15 points.
Manley said he was impressed with the Tigers.
“I’m telling you, they’re going to win games in this league,” Manley said. “They’re going to be in the mix because they’re well-coached. They’re sound and solid. They play good defense and they take good shots. If we don’t turn them over and they hit a couple shots, it’s a totally different game.”
Added Osborn: “You’ve got to give them all the credit in the world. They really stepped up and made every big play when they needed to.
“We just have to recognize situations better and when things aren’t going good, we can’t just jack up 3s. We’ve got to get to the basket.”
Belton will play in the Gatesville Tournament from Dec. 27-29. Ellison plays on Dec. 27 in the M.T. Rice Tournament in Waco.
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
