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By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record

The walking-on-air Ellis boys basketball team is enjoying its longest winning streak in eight years.
The Jaguars torched visiting Selma Burke 64-32 on Dec. 2. Mason Driver and Peyton Fishel combined for 18 points in the first quarter to lift their team to a commanding 23-10 lead, and it never looked back.
Fishel capitalized on his first start of the season, finishing with a team-high 18 points to go with seven rebounds.
“He’s earned himself a starting spot after being the first guy off the bench,” coach Roger Blalock said.
But Fishel wasn’t the only star of the game. Driver had 17 points and a whopping eight assists, and Bowman Blakley accumulated 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Bentley Carter chipped in nine points.
“We shot the ball probably the best we have all year,” Blalock said. “We went 5 for 9 from the 3-point line.”
Moor 40, South 37
These are rough times for South Davie. The Tigers led 17-11 at halftime, 29-23 at the end of the third and held a six-point advantage with just two minutes to go. But the game turned sour in the closing moments as South (4-7) dropped its third straight on Dec. 2.
Visiting Mooresville exploded for 17 fourth-quarter points to spoil a season-high 17 points from Anderson Branham. Ty Cozart and Dreighton Lunnerman had 10 and seven, respectively.
Ellis 61, North 44
In the first meeting on Nov. 14, Ellis trailed going into the fourth and had to scratch and claw for its closest win of the season, 46-40. The rematch at North Davie on Dec. 5 was drama-free for the Jaguars, who roared to a 34-15 halftime lead and rose to 11-0.
Driver, who came out smoking with nine of Ellis’ 16 points in the first quarter, burned North with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting. The point guard has delivered 12-plus in four straight games.
Driver got plenty of help. Cam James (season-high 12 points, 12 rebounds) racked up a double-double while also handing out three assists. Fishel (12 points) cracked double figures for the fifth time. Blakley contributed four assists and three steals.
Meanwhile, the relentless Nolan Allen dazzled again for North with 27 points and five 3s. He knocked down 6 of 7 foul shots and raised his season average to 21.9.
“We were double-teaming him and he was still scoring,” Blalock said. “He’s just an athlete. We had two guys jumping at him and he would drain them.”
Jeremiah Hernandez and Wade Ridenhour had eight and seven, respectively, for North (5-6).
“We had a tough first half – didn’t box out, didn’t play great defense, didn’t play team basketball offensively, had way too many turnovers,” North coach Caleb Davis said. “We came out in the second half and locked back into our game plan, but Ellis was just better. Kudos to (Ellis) for playing a great game.”
The Jaguars, who have 10 wins by 13-plus points, are riding their longest winning streak since the 2016-17 team finished 11-0.
Ellis 64, Burke 32 – Peyton Fishel 18, Mason Driver 17, Bowman Blakley 12, Bentley Carter 9, Cam James 4, Joseph Burchette 2, Graham Weaver 2.
Mooresville 40, S. Davie 37 – Anderson Branham 17, Ty Cozart 10, Dreighton Lunnerman 7, Colson Dulin 2, Jared Vaughters 1.

Ellis 61 – Mason Driver 22, Cam James 12, Peyton Fishel 12, Jordan Crowley 5, Bentley Carter 3, Wade Hefner 2, Bowman Blakley 2, Ben Bost 2, Henry Migliarese 1.
N. Davie 44 – Nolan Allen 27, Jeremiah Hernandez 8, Wade Ridenhour 7, Levi Morales 2.