Ellis leads patient Pioneers past Eagles

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:22AM

Clark's Devin Ellis didn't realize the T-Shirt under his uniform didn't quite match and before it became an issue, the senior pulled it off to make certain he could start the game.

Maybe the T-Shirt was a blessing as the senior led his team to a tough 47-44 win over Lake Station.

"I usually play with a shirt under my uniform but I didn't want to chance not starting the game so I just took it off and kept myself in the game," Ellis said.

With or without the shirt, Ellis was key along with Mario Herron in leading Clark (10-7) to the win.

"We got great senior leadership and our team was patient in our offense and that was key to getting the win against a very tough opponent in Lake Station," Clark coach Joe Delgado said.

Lake Station (14-3) jumped out to an early lead thanks to Ricky Garcia, but Clark came right back with its patient offense to get within three at the end of the quarter.

Lake Station struggled in the second quarter and Clark got into an offensive groove to tie the game late in the quarter. A Lake Station turnover led to a buzzer-beater 3-pointer by Bernateau Jean-Michel to give Clark a 17-14 lead going into the locker room.

Lake Station came out aggressively in the second half with two quick 3-pointers from Ricky Garcia and Dean Flores, but Clark answered with its patient attack to maintain the lead at 32-28 at the end of the quarter.

Lake Station wasn't done as Ricky Garcia, who topped all scorers with 22 points, led the Eagles back to tie the game at 34-34 with five minutes to play.

But Ellis was brilliant from the field, hitting seven of his team-high 15 points in the final quarter. Herron (14 points) was equally impressive as he was clutch at the free-throw line, connecting on 6 of 8 to secure the win.

"We expected a tough game from Clark and knew that they had outstanding guard play and hoped to be more of a force in the middle," Lake Station coach Bryon Clouse said. "But we made some mistakes that hurt us but give credit to Clark. They played a good game."

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