OAKES, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Ellendale has only lost the Cowbell Game three times since the new millennia and that trend continued Friday night in their 64-38 win over Oakes.

The Cardinals set the tone early with their stingy defense which caused a lot of issues for Oakes’ offense. The Tornadoes were unable to get many open looks with Ellendale’s perimeter defense clamping down with heavy ball pressure. Oakes only made three field goals in the first half in just 17 attempts. Ellendale shot 19 three-pointers in the first half, making six of them. Ellendale junior guard Levi Reis went 5-11 in the first half from deep territory with 14 points.

The Cardinals got some help in the middle two quarters from their leading scorer center Scott Wagner. The 6-foot-7-inch senior scored 15 points and didn’t miss a single field goal the whole game going 7-7. Sophomore Mason Molan finished with 11 points only missing one shot in his six attempts.

No Tornadoes finished with double digit points. Their leading scorer was junior Andrew Wolff who finished with nine points. Junior Xavier Vossler finished with eight points shooting 4-7 from the floor.

Oakes falls to 1-3 on the regular season and are now 0-1 in district play. Ellendale improves to 1-0 in district play and 2-0 overall. Oakes’ next game won’t be until December 30th on the road against Hankinson.