Ellington Boys Run Their Way to a Win

boys basketball coach Don Flint admitted the scoreboard did not tell the entire story.

Oh, he was happy with a win, especially in an opener, but the storyline ran much deeper than that.

In defeating Rockville 55-31 on the road Friday night, the Purple Knights showed they can handle the demanding up-tempo style Flint has preached for the past three seasons.

''It was a little sloppy, but not bad for the first one,'' Flint said of Ellington's performance. ''We absolutely want to push. If we can push with ease and control, we'll meet our objectives.''

Sloppy was un understatement, because for most of the contest, it seemed there were vastly more turnovers than field goals. The teams managed just seven points in the fourth quarter and Rockville had just one of them.

Ellington, however, held Rockville to one shot on most of its possessions - when the Rams were't throwing the ball away - and ran downcourt fast enough to prevent them from sitting back in a 2-3 zone.

The end result was a 12-5 lead at the end of the first quarter, a margin that was extended to 25-9  when Zack Graves converted an offensive rebound with 2:33 left in the second.

Rockville closed the half with an 8-4 run, but Ellington took a 29-17 lead into the locker room at the half.

Ellington led 49-30 after three quarters.

Graves finished with 15 points, as did Mike Gresh. Dan Schofer had 12 for Ellington.

Though Rockville struggled trying to get its offense on track while falling to 0-2, Rams coach Peter McCann said he has to look at the positive.

"You know, these kids will come to practice tomorrow and be OK,'' he said. ''These are good kids and they work hard. They care and that says a lot.''

Octavious McGhee-Kelley had 10 points for Rockville.

Flint knows that there will be times this season when the Knights will have to work a half-court offense and he has already taken notes on where they can improve.

''We know we will be in that situation, and when we have to slow it down, we have to do a better job on the entry pass, especially to the low post,'' he said.

Flint then hesitated.

"There were way too many positive things that came out of this game to dwell on that,'' he said. ''It was a good first game.''