IOWA FALLS, IOWA -- The torrid start to the season continued for the Ellsworth CC men's basketball team as they pushed their record to 6-0 with a pair of blowout victories in the Dale Howard Classic over the weekend.  The Panthers, the first ECC team in 9 years to win its first 6 games of the season, blew out Western Tech, 105-29, on Friday, and polished off Rochester CTC, 93-68, Saturday.

The Western Tech contest was total domination for the Panthers, who held the visitors scoreless for the first 13 minutes while running away to a 34-0 lead.  It was 54-10 at intermission and ECC put up another 51 points in the final period.  Diondre Taylor's 17 points paced Ellsworth and his total included 5 3-pointers.  Dior Davis and Tarik Islamovic each scored 12 points and Bruce Kanno and Clayton Ubben had 10 apiece.  Ubben pulled down a team-high 9 rebounds, Clavance Alvares handed out 6 assists and Issakha Niang blocked 5 shots to go along with his 9 points.

All 15 players saw action for ECC and they played at least 9 minutes.  Thirteen scored and 14 were credited with at least one rebound.  Seven different players made a three.  Western Tech was limited to 15 percent shooting and hit only 2-of-23 3-point attempts.

Rochester CTC brought a No. 9 ranking in NJCAA Division III into the Saturday game and they led early.  But the Panthers forged a 15-13 lead and then exploded for a 51-28 advantage at the break.

Three ECC players reached double figures in scoring, led by Shawn Fulcher with 16 and Arlandus Keyes with 15.  Saliou Seye scored 12 points and had 4 blocks.  Dior Davis tied for the team lead with 6 rebounds and Davis dished out 8 assists and had 6 steals.  Ezekiel Thompkins and Keyes also grabbed 6 boards and Rich Ashu blocked 4 shots.

The 11th-ranked Panthers, now averaging 102.0 points a game, have a home contest against 19th-rated North Central Missouri on Tuesday night at the Dittmer Gym.