Kernel boys can't keep up with Pierre

Dominant shooting lifted No. 2-ranked Pierre over the Mitchell Kernels 62-47 Tuesday at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

“We’ve played in this building enough to know that if Mitchell gets rolling, they play with a lot of confidence the rest of the game,” said Pierre coach Terry Becker, an Avon native. “It was important for us to get off to a good start and execute. We shot the ball well early and we started getting stops, and that’s what helped us get the lead.”

Mitchell head coach Tom Young said Pierre’s play was tough but his team could’ve put more effort into the Eastern South Dakota Conference matchup.

“(Pierre) has a nice, all-around team and are very well coached,” Young said. “I don’t think we took care of the ball like we should’ve. There were probably eight or nine possessions where we handed them the ball, and if we score on half of those possessions, then it could be a different game.”

The Kernels committed 16 turnovers to Pierre’s 11.

Out of the gate, the Governors, who shot 63 percent in the first half, used their height to gain a 14-6 lead on the Kernels, with four buckets in the paint and two 3-pointers by Cody Honeywell.

Pierre’s well-rounded shooting lifted it to a 20-8 lead at the end of the opening quarter, with five different players scoring. All of Mitchell’s points came by Seth Cavanaugh, with two shots behind the arc.

The Governors continued to control the floor with Zach Hanson and Lane Severyn, who led all players with 19 points, scoring 10 points apiece in the first half and leading Pierre to a 35-22 lead at the halfway point.

Pierre stretched the score to its largest lead of the game, 25 points, in the third quarter after a 6-0 run.

In the final quarter the Kernels, who scored 20 points in the fourth, began to mix up its offense, coming out with success when driving to the basket.

“We should’ve been able to do that in the first half, but we just didn’t execute like we wanted to do it,” Mitchell head coach Tom Young said. “Once we can penetrate into the lane, we’ll open up the floor.”

Hanson, who had a game-high six rebounds, and Honeywell each ended the game with 12 points for Pierre, which shot 60 percent from the field.

Mitchell was led by Cavanaugh with 18 points and Morgan scored 10 in the loss.

The Kernels turn back around to play another conference team when they travel to face Yankton at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Pierre is back in action next week as it hosts Aberdeen Central at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

PIERRE 62

MITCHELL 47

Pierre (5-4, 5-2 ESD)

Garrett Pochop 2-3 0-0 5; Austin Christopherson 1-2 0-0 2; Lane Severyn 9-12 0-1 19; Cody Honeywell 4-8 0-0 12; Zach Hanson 5-6 2-4 12; Nick Rabern 2-7 0-0 4; Erin Severyn 0-2 0-0 0; Carson Eisenbeisz 0-0 0-4 0; Travis Barton 0-0 0-0 0; Nathan Ellenbecker 0-0 0-0 0; Brevin Kaiser 0-1 0-0 0; Cooper Walton 4-4 0-0 8; Totals 27-45 2-9 62.

Mitchell (3-8, 1-6 ESD)

Cole Morgan 3-7 2-2 10; Seth Cavanaugh 7-11 1-1 18; Beau Brown 3-7 3-3 9; Evan Mastel 0-2 0-0 0; Josh Schmidt 0-1 0-0 0; Ben Prill 0-0 0-0 0; Jared Schmidt 1-1 0-0 2; Zach Moen 0-0 0-0 0; Ryker Kruezfelt 0-0 0-0 0; Ethan Jones 0-0 1-2 1; Derek Miller 2-3 3-5 7; Neil Schlimgen 0-0 0-0 0; Jon Jamison 0-0 0-0 0; Totals 16-32 10-13 47.

Halftime: P 35-22. 3-point goals: P 6-16 (Pochop 1, Severyn 1, Honeywell 4), M 5-13 (Morgan 2, Cavanaugh 3); Rebounds: P 22 (Hanson 6), M 17 (Cavanaugh 5); Assists: P 7 (Pochop 2, Christopherson 2, Severyn 2), M 10 (Brown 3, Jones 3); Steals: P 15 (Severyn 3), M 10; Turnovers: P 11, M 16; Personal fouls: P 14, M 14. Technical fouls: None.

Subvarsity

JV: Pierre 67-53. Derek Miller scored 14 points and brought down a game-high nine rebounds. Ryker Kruezfeldt had 12 points.

Sophomores: Pierre 53-41. Jaron Weich led all players with 24 points and had five rebounds.

Freshman: Pierre 58-45.

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