By Marissa VanWingen
In the first of three weekend tournaments to start the season Ellsworth Community College recorded a 108-95 win over Black Hawk College on day one of the NIACC Tournament and a 98-62 victory over Blackhawk Technical College on Saturday.
The Panthers built a big lead (65-44) over the Braves in the first half. While the second half was won by Black Hawk (51-43) it was not enough to overcome the 19-point deficit. Showing off their depth, 11 of the 13 ECC players that saw court time reached the scoring column and five were in double figures.
Returner Tanner Berggren was five of nine from beyond the arc and a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line to lead the squad with 24 points. Freshman Alex Charlotin finished with six rebounds, three assists, three steals and 16 points and Christian Johnson tallied 13 points. Others in double figures were Eesher Singh Sarai (12) and Jacob Khounsourath (10).
Saturday’s contest versus Blackhawk Technical College was even more lopsided. The Panthers defense held the Talons to just 20 points in the first 20 minutes and recorded a 98-62 decision. They also forced 20 turnovers, including 14 steals in the win. Blackhawk Tech didn’t have many second chance opportunities, nabbing 11 offensive rebounds while ECC had 34 defensive boards and finished with 55 total rebounds.
The scoring was once again spread out between 13 different the Panther players. William Taylor finished with a double-double tallying 11 points and 13 rebounds for ECC. Charlotin led all scoring with 18 points, going 6-10 from the line. Berggren drained three of the team’s five three-pointers for 13 points.
For more on ECC Athletics, visit: https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.timescitizen.com%2fsports%2f&c=E,1,8qLPDr-KZrb_hYVreCK8iBZzDjhQP9bhjqhvoHhR80G-5E1ost8SAGmLajnShpjQp07IUhrpmc_JqPBH2vDcS6A5Zc2ajY-gPS3yOTAKg3pQj21Ehcvz99A,&typo=1
NIACC TOURNAMENT
Friday and Saturday at Mason City
BHC: 44| 51 - 95
ECC: 65| 43 - 108
ECC Scoring: Tanner Berggren 7 5-5 24; Alex Charlotin 8 0-4 16; Christian Johnson 4 2-6 13; Eesher Singh Sarai 5 2-2 12; Jacob Khounsourath 4 0-0 10; Jonovan Wilkinson 3 2-2 9; Rav Randhawa 3 0-0 8; Dan Pembele 3 0-2 6; Will Taylor 2 0-0 4; Chase Low 2-2 0-1 4; Jayden Pretty 0 2-3 2.
BHTC: 20| 42 - 62
ECC: 45| 53 - 98
ECC Scoring: Charlotin 6 6-10 18; Berggren 4 2-2 13; Pretty 2-3 4-4 8; Low 4 0-2 8; Singh Sarai 2 2-2 6; Pembele 3 0-0 6; Wilkinson 1 1-2 4; Kadir Crawford 2 0-0 4; Collins Ngondu 1 2-2 4; Khounsourath 1 0-0 2.