Hornets' manager gets time to shine

It was senior night at The Hive and Brandon Ellis finally got his chance.

After spending each of the past five years as a manager, Wilson Memorial coach Rodney Cullen gave Ellis a jersey and told him to suit up before Tuesday’s game with Stonewall Jackson.

And when he got his chance, Ellis buried two late buckets and grabbed two rebounds in the Green Hornets’ 62-37 rout of the Generals.

Wilson (10-10, 8-6 Shenandoah District) dominated the contest with tough defense and control of the glass. The hosts forced 15 Stonewall Jackson turnovers, held the visitors to a cool 27 percent shooting clip and outrebounded the Generals 44-32.

The Hornets held a 20-point lead at 55-35 when Ellis entered the game.

"I’m feeling great!" Ellis said after the win. "I kept hearing the chants of ‘Put in Ellis, Put in Ellis’ but I thought, ‘We’ve got to make sure the seniors get their time.’ I knew I would get my chance."

With almost three minutes to play, Cullen called for his senior manager.

"I got in and everybody wanted me to shoot," Ellis said. "When I hit my first one, I said, ‘I’m feeling it, I’m feeling it.’"

Wilson was lead by senior guard Connery Swift, who connected for 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Senior post Grant Sauer added nine points in the win.

Colton Harlow led Stonewall with 10 points.

It was Sauer and Swift that led an 8-0 charge to finish off the first quarter and Brandon Poole opened the second with a layup. The seniors led the way as Wilson took a 30-17 lead into intermission.

Wilson didn’t dominate the Generals (1-20, 0-14 Shenandoah) in the same way it did early in the season when they hit 14 3-point field goals.

"There was a lot of emotion tonight," Cullen said. "With senior night and the thing with Brandon going on, everyone was really excited. Defensively, we played hard, but offensively, we just didn’t click as well as we needed to. We forced things a little bit."

And so did Ellis. He forced a couple of shots, but responded by getting his own rebound on one of the misses.

"I was a little excited," Ellis said. "When I found out I was playing tonight, I was really happy. I really wanted to do well and hit those shots after I had been given the chance."

It was the opportunity of a lifetime for the senior manager who had tried out and been cut every single year. His love of basketball kept him around the team, helping in any way he could. And last night belonged to Ellis and the rest of the seniors.

"This was one of the best things I’ve ever been a part of," Stonewall Jackson coach Bill Simmons said. "It was a great night."

Wilson also won the junior varsity contest, 64-39, behind a 28-point effort from Justin Leary and 12 points from Mark Curry.

Wilson will host a first-round Shenandoah District game on Friday night.