The Stockton boys got out to a hot start in 2012, working up to a Number 6 ranking in Class 1A Division 1. But the Tigers dropped their final game before the Christmas break to Norton, so if they wanted to stay in the top 10, Stockton would need to get a victory on the road against a very good Ellis team.
The Tigers certainly looked good early, clawing back from an early deficit to take a one point lead after one quarter. Ellis would outscore them 19-10 in quarter number two, in large part do to a flurry of points from Tyler Walters, who would finish with 25 coming off the bench from the Railers.
Ellis lead by eight at the break and stretched the lead to as many as 10 in the third quarter. Stockton made several runs, getting the lead down to five. But every time the Tigers made a run, the Railers had an answer. Ellis pulled away in the forth quarter for the 66-57 victory.
"We had such a tough finish right before Christmas losing to Ness City in a tough game," said Railers head coach Chris Rorabaugh. "We had five good practices over the break. Stockton has a really nice time, a bunch of good young kids and they fought hard and I thought our kids fought hard."
In the girls match up, Stockton struggled to keep up with the Lady Railers, who are ranked ninth in Class 2A. Ellis raced out to an 11-2 lead after one quarter. The Lady Tigers had some fight in them, starting the second quarter on a 7-0 run.
But it was all Ellis from that point on. The Lady Railers ended the first half on a 9-0 run and lead 29-13 at the break.
More of the same in the second half. Ellis was paced by freshman Alexcia Deutscher who had 17 points. The final score ballooned to a 54-23 Ellis victory.
