On Monday night the Prescott Cardinal Varsity Basketball Team welcomed the Ellsworth Panthers to the nest. Prescott entered the game with a 4-2 record overall and a 2-0 record in Middle Border Conference play. Ellsworth was 3-1 on the season and 2-1 in conference play.

Ellsworth got off to a hot start and quickly led 4-0. Ben Rohl scored Prescott’s first two points of the night at the free throw line. Ellsworth continued their hot play and Prescott called a timeout trailing 14-8. Jordan Malmlov scored seven points as the Cardinals tried to keep pace. Prescott called another timeout with 8:01 remaining in the half, Ellsworth leading 19-15. After a Malmlov put back basket, the Cardinals had their first lead of the night, 26-25 with 2:10 left in the half. Prescott added to their lead and went into halftime with a four-point advantage, 31-27.

The Panthers started the second half fast and scored the first six points. Two minutes into the half, Ellsworth regained the lead, 33-31. It lasted only a few seconds as Dallas Wallin hit a three pointer and the freshman gave Prescott a 34-33 lead. Philip Seifert completed a threepoint play to tie the game at 41 and forced the Panthers to call a timeout with 13:02 to play. The rivals would trade the lead back and forth several times early in the second half. After a Malmlov jumper made the game 49-48 in favor of the Cardinals, another timeout was called with 10:23 remaining. The Panthers would not go away as they continued to pound the ball inside through senior Mason Anderson. With 5:31 on the clock, the Cardinals took a timeout with a 59-58 lead. The teams continued to battle with no side able to gain much of an advantage. Prescott called a timeout with 2:23 remaining and Ellsworth leading 66-65. Wallin hit a huge three point shot to give the Cardinals the lead and they would never look back. The Cardinals win the Highway 10 rivalry by a score of 78-67.

Malmlov led the way with 37 points. He also recorded eight rebounds and eight assists. Wallin added 23 points, six rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Seifert added eight points. Justin Syverson had six points, while Aiden Russell added two points and seven rebounds.

Anderson recorded a 27-point, 12-rebound double-double. Jack Janke finished the game with 16 points, six boards and four assists, while Spencer Schultz finished with 14 points and six rebounds on four of six shooting from behind the arc.

Tuesday, the Cardinals travelled to Glenwood City to take on the Hilltoppers. The Hilltoppers were 2-1 on the season and had not played in over a week. The Cardinals were playing on back-to-back days. The last time the Cardinals played in back-to-back games, they struggled in a loss to River Falls.

Prescott had little trouble defeating Glenwood City by a score of 80-46. The easy win gave the coaches a chance to give more time to their bench players and to give some of the starters a break.

Ten Prescott players would score on the night, led by Dallas Wallin. Wallin scored 25 points and added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Malmlov had 10 points and four assists. Teddy Huppert added 10 points and nine rebounds while Aiden Russell scored eight points with 10 rebounds. Syverson recorded seven points while Philip Seifert and Kyle Holman added six points each.

Prescott finishes their 2020 portion of the basketball season with a 6-2 record overall and a 3-0 conference mark. The Cardinals are next in action on January 2nd when they travel to New Richmond to face the Tigers.

Ellsworth was back in action the following night as well, losing a tough game at Menomonie, who plays in the larger Big Rivers Conference. Janke and Anderson each recorded 22 points in the 55-46 loss after the Panthers trailed by just a point going into halftime, 27-26. The 3-3 squad will be back in action Saturday, January 2nd when they host River Falls.

Photos by Jack McLoone.