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Bellaire pounced on the offense of Ellsworth and forced them into questionable shots and errant passes for much of the night.

The Eagles took the opening tipoff and didnÕt look back, grabbing an 8-0 lead before Ellsworth seemed to know what hit them. Everyone seemed to chip in on the offensive side of the ball for Bellaire, and the result was a dominating 19-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Lancers were kept at bay with stout defensive play from the Eagles and a propensity to turn over the ball at innoportune times.

The second quarter was tough as well, as Cody Bock sank a couple of long jumpers. The Lancers didnÕt hit double figures until 14 minutes into the game. Scott Mason converted with a bucket plus the foul with two seconds in the hal

A small ray of sunshine filtered through the brush when Ellsworth scored the first four points of the third quarter, but that was where it ended. Bellaire continued to force Ellsworth into unfavorable shots, and found ways to score points with many of their reserve players in the game. Brad Guy dropped in a bucket for Bellaire at the buzzer to give them a 52-23 lead with only a quarter to play.

The fourth was merely a cruise-controlled one that saw the Eagles trying out a plethora of reserves, including junior varsity players Dakota Kintigh and Sean Payne. When the buzzer sounded, the Ealges walked away district champs with the dominant 60-30 win.

"We were dominant on both sides of the coin in the first half,Ó" said Eagles coach Stan Sexton. "Our offensive and defensive effort let us break out to a big first half lead.

"We learned something against Central Lake on Friday, we didnÕt play good defense,Ó"Sexton said. "We concentrated on stopping EllsworthÕs penetration.

ÒWe tried to set some screens for Cody, and he got some nice looks and good shots. It was a strong game all around for us and IÕm happy to have the won the way we did."

Mike McClary led the Eagles in the scoring department, dropping 14.baskets.