DANVILLE, ILLINOIS -- Playing their 4th game in 5 days in the NJCAA DII National Championship, the Ellsworth Panthers dropped an 88-75 decision to Davidson-Davie (NC) CC in the game for 3rd place.  Ellsworth lost to the top-seeded Storm a day after they fell to No. 2 seeded South Suburban (Ill.) in the semifinals and closed the season with a 29-8 record.

Ellsworth and Davidson-Davie battled through 4 ties early.  The Panthers took an 11-7 lead with 4 different players contributing field goals.  Davidson-Davie snapped a 15-15 deadlock with a 3-pointer that sparked an 8-0 run and the Panthers never led again.  ECC got back to within 2 points on a jump shot by Clinton Efinda, who led all scorers with 32 points, and was able to cut the deficit to 42-40 by the halftime break.  The Storm opened up a double-digit advantage for the first time with 13:11 to play and eventually went on top by 17 points at 74-57.  The Panthers fought back to 79-71 on a three by Jordan Glenn-Hawkins and, in the final minute, a Themba Tshuma layup made it a 6-point game.  The Storm tallied the final 7 points to produce the final margin.

The Panthers attempted 85 free throws in the previous 2 tournament games, but shot just 12 in this contest, making 6.  Playing without 3 starters, they managed only 6 bench points and were outscored by Davidson-Davie's non-starters, 38-6. 

Efinda, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, was one of only 2 Panthers in double-digits in scoring.  Glenn-Hawkins had 17 to go with a team-high 10 rebounds.  Veljko Munitlak made his 5th start of the season and grabbed 9 rebounds.

The loss certainly doesn't diminish what ECC was able to accomplish in Bryan Bender's 2nd season as head coach.  They fell one victory shy of tying the school record for wins, went 14-4 in one of the toughest DII leagues in the country and earned their way to the first national tournament berth in 38 years by taking back-to-back wins against DMACC and Iowa Lakes, 2 national tourney teams, in the Region XI postseason tournament.  The Panthers have won 51 games since Bender took over the program.