Mitchell boys fall to Watertown

WATERTOWN — Watertown High School’s boys’ bas-ketball team continued its impressive start to the 2012-13 season by rolling to victory in its home debut Tuesday night.

Four players scored in double figures and the fourth-rated Arrows cruised to a 67-34 Eastern South Dakota Conference victory over Mitchell.

The Arrows improved to 3-0 overall and in the ESD. They’ve won their first three games by an average margin of 26 points. The Kernels, who saw their two-game winning streak halt, slipped to 2-4 and 0-4.

“They’re a very nice team. They’re going to be near the top of the conference and they have the potential to go a long way,” first-year Mitchell head coach Tom Young said.

The undersized Kernels, who essentially start five guards, battled to an 8-8 tie in the first five minutes before the Arrows heated up and quickly put the game away. A 3-pointer by senior guard Tanner Heiser and a put-back by 6-foot-3 senior Landen Mack gave the Arrows a 13-8 first-quarter lead. Two 3-pointers by junior Trevor Jutting spearheaded a 14-2 surge early in the second quarter that quickly decided the issue.

“It feels good. We’re rolling right now and everything is clicking on all cylinders,” said Jutting, who led the Arrows’ balanced attack with 16 points.

Watertown shot 56 percent (28 of 50) from the field, including an 8-for-13 performance from the 3-point line and owned the boards against the Kernels 28-15. Mitchell shot 34 percent (14 of 44) from the field and didn’t get many second chances.

“Rebounding was the big thing, especially in the first half when we had three kids get one rebound,” Young said. “I told the kids before the game that would be a big key. We shot just over 30 percent from the field and for us to compete with anybody, just because of our size, we need to shoot the ball well and we just didn’t. We didn’t do anything very well.”

Young credited Watertown for its play. Jutting, playing with a brace on his knee after suffering an ACL injury in football, went 6-for-7 from the field including 4-for-4 from 3-point range and also grabbed six rebounds.

Mack added 15 points and seven rebounds and 6-4 junior Marcus Gravatt 10 points and six rebounds. Heiser, who averaged more than 20 points per game as a junior, finished with 10 points.

Young credited Watertown for its play. Jutting, playing with a brace on his knee after suffering an ACL injury in football, went 6-for-7 from the field including 4-for-4 from 3-point range and also grabbed six rebounds.

Mack added 15 points and seven rebounds and 6-4 junior Marcus Gravatt 10 points and six rebounds. Heiser, who averaged more than 20 points per game as a junior, finished with 10 points.

Tags: sports, updates, basketball, kernels, mitchell