By John RittenhouseThe Ellsworth boys’ basketball team raised its record to 6-0 after posting a pair of convincing wins on consecutive nights last week.The Panthers rolled to a 24-point win over Lincoln HI in Ivanhoe Thursday before winning a showdown with Russell-Tyler-Ruthton in Ellsworth Friday.EHS plays in Minneota tonight before competing in the Mitchell (S.D.) Tournament Friday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.Ellsworth 81, R-T-R 69In what could be a preview of the Section 3A championship game in March, the Panthers picked up their biggest win of the season when they toppled the Knights by 12 points in Ellsworth Friday.R-T-R, Minnesota’s two-time defending Class A champion, entered the clash as the state’s top-ranked Class A team on Friday.A young EHS team didn’t appear to be intimidated. The Panthers canned 51 percent of their shots and handled R-T-R’s pressure defense (EHS turned the ball over three times in the game) during a convincing win."We shot the ball well and we took care of the ball," said EHS coach Markus Okeson. "Not turning the ball over is the key against R-T-R because they have a team that plays good defense."Ellsworth led 38-33 after 18 minutes of play before outscoring the Knights 43-36 in the second half to win handily.Cody Schilling recorded a triple-double (24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists) to lead the Panthers to victory. Ben Herman scored 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Aaron Van Der Stoep, Bryan Kramer and Weston DeBerg netted 12, 11 and 10 points respectively for EHS.Box scoreDeBerg 3 0 4-6 10, Kramer 5 0 1-1 11, Schilling 4 1 13-15 24, Van Der Stoep 1 2 4-4 12, Herman 7 1 1-1 18, Chapa 3 0 0-1 6.Team statisticsEllsworth: 27 of 53 field goals (51 percent), 23 of 28 free throws (82 percent), 32 rebounds, three turnovers.Ellsworth 87, LH 63An outstanding shooting night by the Panthers set the stage for a 24-point win in Ivanhoe Thursday.Ellsworth cashed in on 52 percent (36-70) of its shots, including an 87-percent effort (13 of 15) from two-point range in the second half, during a rout of the Rebels."We shot the ball really well," said EHS coach Okeson. "That’s what it boils down to. We could have put up a lot of points if we wanted to."LH opened the game with a triangle-and-two defense. Ellsworth’s Kramer, who snatched seven rebounds of the game, took advantage of openings in LH’s defense to score 16 of his 20 points during a first half that ended with EHS sporting a 49-31 lead.Ellsworth, which led by as many as 35 points in the second half, received a 23-point, 11-rebound, five-assist effort from Schilling. Nick Deutsch charted six assists for the Panthers.Box scoreDeBerg 2 0 0-0 4, Deutsch 1 0 1-2 3, Kramer 7 2 0-0 20, Schilling 10 0 3-4 23, Van Der Stoep 2 1 0-0 7, Herman 4 0 0-0 8, Klaassen 0 1 3-4 6, Chapa 2 0 0-0 4, Lindemann 0 0 0-1 0, Kix 3 0 0-0 6, Jansma 1 0 4-4 6.Team statisticsEllsworth: 36 of 70 field goals (52 percent), 11 of 15 free throws (73 percent), 49 rebounds, 10 turnovers.