The Norton Bluejays were handed a two-point loss in their last matchup, but they sure didn't let that happen against the Ellis Railroaders on Friday. Everything went Norton's way against Ellis as Norton made off with a 68-43 victory. Given Norton's advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 78th, while Ellis is ranked 292nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Norton's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Eli Jones, who scored 19 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Jones is absolutely dominating the point category: he's posted at least 15 every time he's taken the court this season. Rylen Murray was another key contributor, scoring 20 points.
Despite the loss, Ellis saw an underclassman step up: Aiden Aschenbrenner scored 17 points along with three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Logan Russell, who scored seven points along with five rebounds.
Ellis struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Norton racked up 17 assists.
Norton has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 10-2 record this season. As for Ellis, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 4-10.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Norton will square off against Colby at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Ellis' road trip will continue as they head out to face Trego at 7:00 p.m. on February 2nd.
