The Ell-Saline Cardinals boys’ basketball squad tangled with the Bennington Bulldogs for the third time this season Friday afternoon, squaring off in the seventh-place game of the Canton-Galva Boys’ Midseason Basketball Tournament.  As was the case in the first two matchups, the Bulldogs scored a runaway victory, winning 63-32.

Bennington (4-7) made an early statement, jumping out to a 19-5 lead at the end of the first quarter behind a strong showing from senior Javon Allen, who finished the first eight minutes with eight points.

Ell-Saline (0-11) outscored the Bulldogs by a point in the second quarter to stay within striking distance at halftime, but a 22-4 third quarter in favor of Bennington dashed the Cardinals’ comeback hopes.

Allen led all scorers in the contest, finishing with 15 points, while Bennington sophomore Cayden Bauer tallied 14 points.  Senior Tyler Stanley added ten points in the win, nine of those coming in the third quarter to help the Bulldogs pull away.

The Cardinals were paced for the third-consecutive game by sophomore Taegan Bradley who ended the game with 11 points, while junior T.J. Morrical finished with ten points in the loss.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

Bennington   19   13   22   9  –  63

Ell-Saline        5    14    4    9  –  32