If the Smith Center Redmen were riding high off their 74-51 takedown of the Oakley Plainsmen back in December of 2023, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. Smith Center took a 56-48 hit to the loss column at the hands of Ellis on Friday. The game was a 23-23 toss-up at halftime, but Smith Center was outscored by Ellis in the second.
Several Redmen players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Wyatt Overmiller, who scored 12 points. Another player making a difference was Brant Wilson, who scored 14 points.
Leading Ellis to victory were Jaren Frickey and Aiden Aschenbrenner. Frickey scored 20 points, while Aschenbrenner scored 19 points along with five rebounds and three steals. That makes it six consecutive games in which Frickey has scored at least 25% of Ellis' points. Gavyn Wildeman was another key contributor, scoring five points.
Smith Center's loss dropped their record down to 2-5. As for Ellis, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 3-5.
Smith Center will head out on the road to face off against Russell at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Russell is on a five-game streak of home losses, Smith Center an 11-game streak of away losses (dating back to last season), but someone's luck is about to change. Ellis will take on Thomas More Prep-Marian at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Kansas (Thomas More Prep-Marian is ranked 261st, while Ellis is ranked 268th).
