SANTA ANA, Calif. - Kelvonte Ellis poured in 22 points to go along with eight boards to lead the Santa Ana Men's Basketball team to a 81-65 win over Victor Valley (5-9) on Tuesday night. 

The Dons (4-8) snapped a three game losing streak to finish out non-conference play.

Ellis shot 9-of-13 and finished in double-digits for the third consecutive game. The freshman out of Warsaw, Virginia also added three steals and a couple blocks.

Santa Ana was on the attack right from the tip as they opened the game with an 11-0 run capped by a fastbreak dunk from Ellis at the 15:59 mark. 

Over the next five minutes, Victor Valley manufactured some points to stay in the game but the Dons quickly responded to create an even bigger gap. 

With three seconds remaining in the half, Russell Malone got out on a break and made a layup to push the lead to 43-22 to close out the opening period. 

Although the Rams made a valiant effort to comeback, Santa Ana maintained their lead through the second half to secure a much needed win. 

The Dons got back to playing their brand of basketball in this one as they got production from both their starters and the bench. Malone finished the night as the second leading scorer with 13 points off the bench while adding three assists and a couple rebounds. Zeyu Shan and Tyler Woods contributed with 10 points each while combining for six boards. Court Franklin got his first start of the year and posted an impressive line of nine points and eight rebounds, including five on the offensive side. 

Santa Ana will need to carry that momentum into Thursday as they take on the No. 1 ranked Fullerton Hornets (12-1, 1-0 OEC) in their first Orange Empire Conference game of the season. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. at Fullerton College.