Ellis ignites Bandits

Victoria Sun

Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2001 | 10:16 a.m.

The instructions were simple.

"We were down by eight and (coach) Lionel (Hollins) called on me to just go in and make something happen," said Las Vegas Bandits forward Harold Ellis.

Ellis' hustle and energy on the court propelled the Bandits to score a season-high 43 points in the second quarter en route to a 116-111 victory over the New Mexico Slam Tuesday night before an announced crowd of 2,251 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Bandits needed a victory to stop a two-game slide and improved to 6-4 while New Mexico dropped to 3-6.

J.R. Henderson led the Bandits with 32 points and 10 rebounds followed by Isaac Burton with 23 points and six assists.

Las Vegas looked sluggish early and New Mexico's Andy Panko scored 11 of his 31 points in the first quarter to give the Slam an eight-point lead. New Mexico's Keith Carter contributed 20 points and six rebounds for the Slam.

Hollins inserted Ellis into the lineup early in the second quarter, and he had four of his five steals in that period to help the Bandits take control.

Down 43-44, the Bandits went on a 17-2 run started by Mike Jones' layup to bury the visitors. During that stretch, the Bandits controlled the boards on both ends and scored off steals that led to layups.

The team made a franchise record 17-of-21 shots in that quarter to lead 66-51 at the half.

Jones finished with 17 points and Eddie Gill had 15 points and 12 assists.

"Our energy level picked up," Hollins said. "The group we had out there was hustling and getting steals, then layups and fast breaks.

"We just started to steamroll. It's like that snowball going downhill. I'm happy to get the win.

"I think I have to give credit to Harold Ellis because when he came in, his energy was contagious. He got after it, got a couple steals and everyone followed."

Ellis rejoined the team after Frantz-Pierre Louis sustained a concussion on Dec. 23 against the Slam in New Mexico.

Ellis had left the team to work for the NBA as the Midwest continuing education coordinator before the season began. He stopped playing for three weeks before the Bandits gave him a call.

"I did miss playing," Ellis said. "It's a good feeling to be out there.

"I almost was ready to call Lionel before he called me to see if they could use me. I didn't know if I could play again because the team already had its nucleus, so I'm just glad Lionel gave the chance."

Ellis still works for the NBA by assisting players who want to return to college or get their master's degrees, but is able to play for the Bandits because he does not have to do a lot of traveling until February.