The Ell-Saline High School boys’ basketball squad fell in defeat Tuesday night in the quarterfinal round of the 45th Annual Canton-Galva Midseason Boys’ Basketball Tournament, falling 66-34 to the Wichita Classical High School Saints.

Offense was hard to come by for the tournament’s sixth-seeded team in the first quarter, as the Cardinals fell behind the third-seeded Saints 16-4 after the opening stanza.

Ell-Saline (2-8) stayed within striking distance at the half, trailing Wichita Classical (5-5) 30-14, but a 28-11 Saints’ advantage in the third quarter put the game out of reach.

Wichita Classical’s post play played a major role in the victory, as senior forward Cole Buckingham tallied 21 points on the night to lead all scorers, while junior big Aubrey Young added 18 points in the victory.

Ell-Saline was led on the night by senior post Pat Giersch, who finished the game with 11 points despite playing limited minutes due to foul trouble.  Sophomore guards T.J. Morrical and Treyton Peterson chipped in with ten and nine points, respectively.

The Cardinals return to action Thursday afternoon at 4:30pm in the consolation semifinal round, awaiting the loser of second-seeded Wichita Home School and seventh-seeded Canton-Galva (ongoing at time of publication.)

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Ell-Saline     4    10    11    9  –  34

Classical     16    14    28   8  –  66

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