Mitchell boys pick up first win of season

The Kernels were looking at déjà-vu.

Leading by one point late in the game, the Mitchell boys’ basketball team was on defense. It’s opponent, Rapid City Central, was looking for the lead.

The Cobblers had three opportunities to go ahead within the final 27 seconds. But Mitchell’s defensive effort, coupled with Central’s missed free throws and a technical foul, gave the Kernels the 70-67 nonconference victory Friday at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

“We stayed a little calmer because we were in that situation just a couple of nights ago,” Mitchell guard Seth Cavanaugh said, referring to Tuesday’s 52-51 loss to Brookings where the Kernels lost on a shot at the buzzer. “We know how to handle that now, and we stayed within ourselves and came through.”

Cavanaugh led all players with 25 points, making six of Mitchell’s 12 three-point baskets in the game. The long-range shooting helped Mitchell pick up its first win of the season, improving to 1-3, while Central remains winless at 0-3.

“I really wanted to win for these kids,” Mitchell coach Tom Young said. “This win is big, and I look for us to get more confidence as the year goes on.”

Both Young and Central head coach Mike Purcell thought the game was won on the defensive end as both teams had four players in double scoring figures.

“A lot of our success is going to stem from our defense,” Purcell said. “We’ve got to put more work into our individual defense in order to keep the opponent’s scores lower. That’s what’s going to give us a shot at winning these games.”

Central’s Jesse Riddle had a team-high 19 points. Ian Barse recorded 17, John Fierro added 13 and Mitchell Newhouse knocked down 10.

Beau Brown had 14 points, Cole Morgan tallied 13 and Jared Schmidt added 11 in the win.

“On the offensive end, this is the first time we’ve really executed,” Cavanaugh said. “We broke down the defense a couple of times, got the ball to our shooters and knocked down shots.”

Despite the good offensive effort by the Kernels, Young said Zach Moen and Evan Mastel made huge contributions in the win.

“Those two bring a lot of defensive energy and were real keys to our victory,” he said.

The Cobblers took early control of the game, going ahead by as many as eight points in the first quarter. The Kernels crawled back in the game with shots from behind the arc. With the help of Mitchell’s defensive effort, which earned eight steals in the first half, the Kernels took a two-point lead on a layup by Morgan as the first quarter came to an end.

The Kernels stayed hot as they led by 11 points, their largest lead of the game, in the second quarter. But Central was able to cut down the deficit, leaving Mitchell up 35-30 heading into the locker room.

The Cobblers came out firing in the second half and eventually tied the game at 43 on a score by Tucker Berg. Central took its first lead since the first quarter late in the third with a basket by Newhouse, going ahead 47-46.

The Kernels answered with a 3-pointer by Morgan, going ahead at the end of the third quarter 49-47.

In the fourth, Mitchell was down by as many as five points as Fierro took control on the offensive end for Central.

The Kernels fought back with shots behind the arc from Cavanaugh and Schmidt, tying the game at 65 with 1:24 left to play.

With a tie game at 67, Cavanaugh was fouled and made 1 of 2 free throws, giving Mitchell the 68-67 lead with 40 seconds on the clock.

Central’s Barse drove the lane and put the ball up, but Cavanaugh blocked the shot, sending the ball into the stands.

After a Mitchell foul, Newhouse had an opportunity to lift Central to the top but missed a costly free throw.

Schmidt rebounded the ball with five seconds left to play and was sent to the line after a foul, also making 1 of 2 shots.

During Central’s final play, Fierro was given a technical, securing Mitchell the victory.

Both teams are back in action today as Mitchell hosts Rapid City Stevens at 1:45 p.m. at the Corn Palace. Central travels to play Huron at 1:45 p.m. in Huron.

MITCHELL 70, RAPID CITY CENTRAL 67

MHS (1-3, 0-3 ESD)

Cole Morgan 5-10 0-0 13, Jared Schmidt 4-9 2-3 11, Zach Moen 1-2 0-0 2, Seth Cavanaugh 8-16 3-5 25, Beau Brown 5-9 3-6 14, Evan Mastel 2-4 0-0 5, Josh Schmidt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 25-52 8-14 70.

RCHS (0-3)

Jake Seales 1-3 0-0 3, Ian Barse 7-12 2-3 17, Jesse Riddle 6-13 2-3 19, John Fierro 5-10 3-3 13, Mitchell Newhouse 5-8 0-1 10, Tucker Berg 1-2 1-2 3, Levi Pyle 0-0 0-0 0, Josh Dotson 0-0 0-0 0, Nathan Miller 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 26-50 8-12 67.

MHS 17 35 49 70

RCHS 15 30 47 67

3-Point Goals: MHS 12-28 (Cavanaugh 6, Morgan 3, Ja. Schmidt 1, Brown 1, Mastel 1), RCC 7-18 (Riddle 5, Seales 1, Barse 1). Assists: MHS 9 (Brown 5), RCC 8 (Seales 4). Turnovers: MHS 8, RCC 13. Total Fouls: MHS 13, RCC 17. Technical fouls: Fierro, RCC.

JV: Rapid City Central 62-49; Mitchell’s Ethan Jones had 15 points and Derek Miller had 12 points and seven rebounds.

Sophomores: Rapid City Central 63-41; Mitchell’s Kanin Nelson had 12 points, Tyler Houwman had nine points, Ben Miller had seven and Alex Hartman had six rebounds.

Freshmen A: Rapid City Central 52-49. Rapid City Central 5249; Mitchell’s Jet Li Heng had 13 points and Justin Syring had 11.

Freshman B: Mitchell 60-52.

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