It was a tough night for the Ell-Saline Cardinals on the defensive end of the court, as they fell to a talented and experienced Canton-Galva squad by a score of 75-48 in the first round of the 47th Annual Canton-Galva Boys Basketball Tournament.
It was 733 days ago when the Cardinals picked up their last win, a victory over Canton-Galva in this tournament, but they could not spark the upset against a very physical Eagles squad. Ell-Saline hung in there with the tourney hosts, trailing just 23-14 after a quarter while doing damage against the Eagles’ second unit. When the Canton-Galva starters returned in the second quarter, the Eagles went on their run. The lead grew to 41-19 going into halftime and the Cardinals never got back to within 15 for the rest of the night, falling to 0-8 on the season. Head coach Marty Wendel experimented with a 1-3-1 zone in the fourth quarter, which gave Canton-Galva trouble. It will be interesting to see if Ell-Saline uses the zone down the stretch.
For Ell-Saline, they got a great night from their bench unit. While Hunter Steinbrook totalled a season-high thirteen points, Joe Heichel and Ryan Duerr both scored eight points off the bench, and Marshall Johnson also added five. For Canton-Galva, their all-WSL duo of Tyson Struber and Brayden Collins both scored 19 points.
Ell-Saline will take the court again in Canton-Galva against Bennington. The Cardinals fell to Bennington earlier in the season 26-48. The game will be broadcast on FM104.9
