In his first year at Marist, senior forward Jack Ellison feels right at home.

“I think I fit in perfectly with this team,” he said. “I didn’t really know anyone except for Morgan (Taylor) and David (Daniels), but all the other guys have accepted me and I’m blessed to have coach (Gene) Nolan bring me in and make me feel welcome.”

Ellison, a transfer from Chicago Christian, is averaging a double-double. He recorded another on Wednesday, finishing with 10 points and 15 rebounds as the host RedHawks sealed the Marist Holiday Invitational title with a 67-49 win over Rich East.

“This was a pretty good first semester,” Ellison said. “A lot of people didn’t think we’d be as good this year, and we’re proving them wrong.”

Taylor poured in 30 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead Marist (11-0), which finished 4-0 in the round-robin event. Daniels added 15 points and eight rebounds, while Tristan Ach added 10 points for the RedHawks.

Vashawn Sims led Rich East (6-4) with 15 points and Antron Washington scored 12.

Ellison was the leader of a dominant rebounding effort for the RedHawks, who held a 40-21 advantage on the glass.

“Jack has fit right in with a bunch of guys that are exactly like him,” Nolan said. “He’s athletic, he rebounds well, and he’s a great teammate.”

Ellison’s friendships with Taylor and Daniels go back several years, as they’ve been AAU teammates with the Illinois Fast Break.

“Having those guys here helped me a lot,” he said. “They made it a much easier transition for me.”

Marist used a 9-0 run over the final 45 seconds of the first quarter and first 48 seconds of the second to take a 21-13 lead, and never looked back.

The RedHawks led 35-24 at halftime and broke it wide open with a 12-0 run midway through the third.

Marist forced 21 turnovers and held the Rockets to 39 points below their season average.

“We know they like to push the ball a lot, so we tried to hold off their first rush,” Taylor said. “After we did that, we figured they’d take some quick shots, and they did.”

Taylor is thrilled to have his old friend, Ellison, on his team.

“Jack’s brought scoring, rebounding and length,” Taylor said. “His hands are huge, so when he gets them up on defense, that helps a lot. He’s really good on the defensive end.”

“It’s great to be 11-0,” Nolan said. “We still have a lot of room to improve, but we have guys that want to keep working to keep getting better.”

Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.