It hasn't taken long for the Mitchell boys' basketball season to shift into high gear.
Just one week after opening with a pair of Eastern South Dakota Conference wins, the Kernels are now ready for what could turn out to be one of the season's biggest games. Mitchell will host No. 1 Watertown tonight at the Corn Palace at 7:30 p.m. in a battle for early-season supremacy in the ESD.
The Kernels enter the game highly ranked as well, currently holding down the No. 4 spot in the first South Dakota Sportswriters Association poll released earlier this week. But in order to maintain that spot, the Kernels will face a tall challenge -- literally.
The Kernels, who don't start a single player taller than 6-foot-3, will have to deal with Watertown's Dustin Tetzlaff and Jordan Burchatz, who are both 6-foot-7. Mitchell coach Gary Munsen said Tetzlaff is an athletic player who is solid on both ends of the floor, but will be especially dangerous on the offensive glass, while Burchatz is a big physical player that has improved his mid-range jump shooting.
"We can't do anything about their 6-7 guys," Munsen said. "The biggest thing is we have to be able to rebound. We have to be able to stay with them on rebounds and not give them second chances."
ADVERTISEMENT
Both Tetzlaff and Burchatz struggled in the team's opener against Aberdeen Central last week, combining to hit just 1-of-12 field goals and score 10 points. However, in Tuesday's win over Huron, they combined to shoot 68 percent from the field for 35 points and 15 rebounds.
As tough as both players could be for Mitchell to defend, however, they also could pose problems for Mitchell's offense.
"We can get in the lane, but they'll block a lot of shots, especially (Burchatz)," Munsen said. "We have to be smart when we get in the lane so we don't get all our shots blocked."
But the Arrows' strengths don't end with their big men. Watertown also features a strong senior point guard in Josh Hanson, who is leading the team with 17.5 points per game. He scored 24 points in the season-opener. Guard Alex Kjellsen and forward Justin Johnson, who is second on the team with 12.5 points per game, are also expected to start for Watertown.
"We have a concern on the outside too with Hanson," Munsen said. "He's pretty clever and pretty handy with the basketball."
Munsen said that even as big as the Arrows are, they still like to run the floor, much like the Kernels will try to do. Watertown has jumped out to quick starts in each of its first two games, something Mitchell will try to take away from the Arrows tonight. Watertown led Huron 27-4 after one quarter on Tuesday, and also built a 17-point first half lead against Aberdeen Central, before giving most of the lead back each time.
"How do you stop something like that? You play defense," Munsen said of Watertown's quick starts. "The kids have to be willing to step up and take the challenge, and get back on the fast breaks."
Mitchell's starting lineup should look the same as last weekend, when Eric Hieb, Jordan Miller and Brett Young started at guard, and Stephen Peschong and Jordan Long got the nod at forward.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Kernels dodged a bullet Tuesday when Long took a hard fall in practice, injuring his lower back. However, he appeared to be practicing at full speed Thursday, and should be in the starting lineup tonight.
"We're real fortunate he didn't break something, because I haven't seen a fall that hard in quite awhile," Munsen said. "He kind of bounced back. He's not 100 percent, but he practiced good (Thursday.) I wasn't going to play him, but he wanted to try it, so we're going to start him and see what happens."
