Mitchell boys fall to Huron 53-51

The development of the Mitchell boys’ basketball team is starting to become more and more obvious.

The Kernels couldn’t put together their first three-game win streak of the year Saturday, but showed more of their growth in a 53-51 Eastern South Dakota Conference loss to Huron at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

On Jan. 22, Mitchell lost to Huron 61-39 at Huron Arena in a game the Kernels had 16 turnovers and were without leading scorer Seth Cavanaugh. Saturday evening, Mitchell trailed by single digits through the first three quarters and took a brief lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Cavanaugh knocked down a deep 3-pointer with five minutes to play to go ahead 41-40, but Huron outscored the Kernels 12-2 in the next 4½ minutes and held on for the lead.

“It was a huge difference,” Young said, comparing Saturday to the first matchup against the Tigers. “Up there, I felt like we competed for about 12 minutes. Here, I felt like we competed for 32 minutes.

“And that’s what I told the team. They have nothing to hang their heads about or be ashamed of.”

Mitchell’s Cole Morgan had a team-high 17 points and Cavanaugh finished with 12 points and five rebounds.

After Cavanaugh knocked down his biggest shot of the game, Huron scored mostly from the inside and capitalized off a pair of costly Mitchell turnovers for a 48-43 lead with 1:13 to go. The Tigers 6-foot-6 junior center Justin Decker, who had a game-high 19 points, hit four of five free throws in the final minute to build Huron’s lead to eight.

Mitchell’s Jared Schmidt and Evan Mastel each had 3-point baskets in the final 10 seconds while their team was in desperation mode.

The Kernels shot 44 percent from the field in the second half, compared to 26 percent in the first half. Mitchell trailed by seven after the first and second quarters, and the team was led by Morgan’s nine points before the break.

The senior guard was pleased with the team’s improvement from the first matchup against Huron, a game he finished with four points.

“We had a lot more ball movement this time, but the shots just weren’t going in,” Morgan said. “We were right with them even when shots weren’t falling.”

Huron dominated the rebounding battle, coming ahead on a 40-23 advantage. But the Tigers also had 14 turnovers to Mitchell’s seven.

“We’ve proven ourselves the last three games,” said Young, whose team’s senior players, statisticians and cheerleaders were recognized before the game on senior night. “When we play hard and intense, we can play with anybody.”

Mitchell (5-14, 3-10 ESD) finishes its regular season on the road Thursday against Yankton. The Kernels are in last place in the District 3AA standings. Huron (13-6, 8-5 ESD) is behind Pierre for second place in the district standings.

HURON 53, MITCHELL 51

MHS (5-14, 3-10 ESD)

Cole Morgan 6-11 4-4 17, Zach Moen 0-1 0-0 0, Seth Cavanaugh 5-15 1-1 12, Beau Brown 2-15 2-3 6, Josh Schmidt 2-4 1-2 5, Jared Schmidt 3-5 0-0 8, Ethan Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Evan Mastel 1-2 0-0 3. Totals: 19-54 8-10 51.

HHS (13-6, 8-5 ESD)

J.P. Noonan 0-4 0-0 0, Will Carr 2-5 0-0 5, Lucas Morrison 1-1 0-2 2, Adam Zwanziger 6-10 0-0 12, Justin Decker 7-16 5-6 19, Houstyn Heinz 0-1 0-0 0, Alex Kopfmann 0-1 0-0 0, James White 0-0 0-0 0, Caleb Carr 6-10 0-0 12, Hayden Busch 1-1 0-0 3, Tre Henderson 0-0 0-0 0, Tate Sporrer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-49 5-8 53.

MHS 8 19 30 51

HHS 15 26 36 53

3-point goals: MHS 5-19 (Ja. Schmidt 2, Morgan, Cavanaugh, Mastel), HHS 2-8 (Carr, Busch). Rebounds: MHS 23 (Cavanaugh 5), HHS 40 (C. Carr 11). Assists: MHS 9 (Brown 4). Turnovers: MHS 7, HHS 14. Total fouls: MHS 14, HHS 15. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.

JV: Huron 52-43; Mitchell’s Jaron Weich had 11 points.

Sophomores: Mitchell 45-39; Jaron Weich had 12 points and Alex Hartman had 11.

Freshmen: Mitchell 34-30; Justin Syring had eight points.

Tags: sports, basketball, updates, kernels