Ellsworth Community College hosted the Dale Howard Classic on Nov. 20 & 21. The men tallied two wins, defeating Quakerdale on Friday night (70-61) and Waldorf JV on Saturday (72-48).

The Panthers were thoroughly challenged by Quakerdale Prep, a young, fast athletic team kept the game close the entire night. ECC maintained a lead the whole game, but the win was not without its difficulties. The Panthers' NJCAA DII Player of the Week, Myzeah Batie-Gaddy, had an off night scoring only 15 points on 8-18 shooting. The Panthers needed a collective effort to come out with a win, and stepping up during the game was Trey Christopher, who scored 11 points on 3-6 from 3-point distance and pulled down 2 rebounds. Also Keeon Johnson, Mo Arrington, and Michael Evans had a balanced attack putting, up 29 points and 14 rebounds between the three of them.

The Panthers took on Waldorf JV on Saturday and came out with the win by a 24 point margin. Waldorf kept the game interesting in the first half with a close score of 35-26 with the Panthers on top going into the break. ECC led the entire game and eventually found their groove and established a solid win.

After an off scoring night for the Panthers on Friday, Batie-Gaddy returned to form for the Waldorf game, scoring 27 points on 10-15 from the floor and 6-7 from the line. Stepping up big this game and making a statement in the second half was freshman Keith Leavy, who scored 16 points on 7-9 shooting and went 2-3 from deep.