ELLSWORTH — The Panthers worked long and hard to prepare to face a then 12-1 Osceola team that was an untouched 5-0 in conference play. Ellsworth was not making life easy for Osceola in the first half, coming out of a defensive spar of a frame with a 22-16 lead.

“They’ve got three big players with [Caleb] Irlbeck, [Hunter] Bradway and [Waylon] Cole. We just made sure we had to stop them,” senior Omar Coulson said. “We just had to come together, play as a team.”

For Osceola, just three players scored in the first half. Both teams got it going in the second half on the offensive end. The two teams see-sawed back and forth until a layup from George Rohl, a forced turnover from Parker Peterson and a quick three from Coulson on the left wing gave Ellsworth a 57-52 lead with two minutes to play.

“The coaches are confident in me shooting, so I got the ball, shot it and it went in,” Coulson said.

Bradway ended with 21, Cole with 11 and Irlbeck with nine, so the Panthers held them below their cumulative average of 45 points per game.

“They’re always so solid defensively. They run their system very well. Offensively, they run their stuff and they’re tough to guard,” Head Coach Derek Staley said of Osceola. “All phases make them tough, they’re good.”

Osceola had a pair of chances to tie the game with a three in the final minutes, but Ellsworth did not give up a great look, sealing the deal with a 60-57 win.

Considered both a conference contender and a team poised to make a run in the postseason, beating Osceola meant something for an Ellsworth team coming off a stretch of losses including one on a buzzer-beater against Prescott, a two-point loss, a three-point loss and a tough loss against Altoona.

“It’s a confidence builder,” Staley said. “I credit the guys, they just stayed with it. They came back to practice and practiced hard the next day both days. Their work paid off tonight.”

“It takes some pressure off of us,” Coulson said. “We lost three games in a row by three points, all close games, so coming back and getting the win, it feels good, especially in front of the home crowd.”

Rohl led Ellsworth in the win with 19 points, followed by senior Jack Stoltenburg with 15 and Coulson and Gavin Klos with seven apiece.

Ellsworth is in the middle of a stretch of games against the Middle Border’s top four teams in the standings. Ellsworth’s last three were against Altoona, Prescott and Osceola. After Osceola is a stretch against St. Croix Central, Osceola again and Prescott again. That marks a six-conference game streak against top-four opponents.

“Our depth helps. We played 10 guys tonight, and that’s usually what we try to play, 10 or 11 if we want to,” Staley said. “That helps us a ton.”

“We’ve just got to play together, play as a team and just be physical like we were today,” Coulson said.
Staley said Assistant Coach Logan Benson did an excellent job with the scouting report for Osceola, and the prep work and active hands from the student-athletes made it all work out. Taking them on again Feb. 3 on the road this time, Staley said they will have to be even better.

“The same thing, but a little better probably,” Staley said. “We’re playing up in their place, and it’s always a tough place to go play. They do a nice job, and we’ve probably got to shoot a little better than we did tonight.”

Ellsworth is 8-8 on the year with a 3-5 Middle Border Conference record.