The Ell-Saline Cardinals wrapped up the four-team, round-robin Tri-County Classic Friday evening at Mabee Arena on the campus of Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, dropping a pair of matchups against the Bennington Bulldogs.

GIRLS:
Bennington 38, Ell-Saline 20

On a night where the Bulldogs didn’t shoot well from the field or the line, Bennington (3-1) got the job defensively to oust the Cardinals and claim second place in the Tri-County Classic.  While El-Saline (0-4) kept pace defensively, the Cardinal offense mustered just six first half points while committing 15 turnovers over the first two quarters to fall behind 20-6 at halftime.

Ell-Saline improved a bit offensively in the second half, but not enough to erase the deficit, as Bennington outscored the Cardinal 18-14 in the second half.

The Bulldogs were paced by senior Jordan Murphy and junior Kyla Kind, who tallied seven points a piece.  Sophomore Abby Frisbie came off the bench to lead Ell-Saline with five points in the loss.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

Ell-Saline        4   2   6   8  –  20

Bennington    9  11  10  8  –  38

BOYS:

Bennington 60, Ell-Saline 34

In the nightcap, Ell-Saline (0-4) hung tough early, trailing by just a point after the first quarter.  After Ell-Saline took a 12-11 lead early in the second quarter, Bulldog senior Javon Allen put Bennington (2-2) on his back, ripping off eight points in the final seven minutes of the first half to help the Bulldogs out to a nine-point halftime advantage.

Bennington poured it on in the third quarter, outscoring Ell-Saline 19-6 in the period to put the game out of reach, helping the Bulldogs to a third-place finish in the tournament.

Allen led all scorers with 15 points in the win, while Bennington sophomore Cayden Bauer add 10 points for the Bulldogs.

Ell-Saline junior Rowan Loder led the Cardinals for the second-consecutive game, finishing with ten points in the loss.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

Ell-Saline      10   9    6    9  –  34

Bennington   11  17  19  13  –  60