In basketball, it doesn't really matter how many points you win by, but that doesn't mean Mitchell Christian boys' coach Tom Young has to be happy with the ending of his team's 59-47 win Tuesday over Avon.
The win for the sixth-ranked Golden Eagles pushed their record to 9-0, and for 24 minutes Tuesday, they looked like one of the state's best teams in Class B. The final eight minutes were another story.
Mitchell Christian led by as many as 21 points late in the third quarter, and led 51-32 going into the fourth. The Eagles countered a 6-0 Avon run to open the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run of their own, pushing the lead right back to 20 with 2:49 to go. But from there, things unraveled.
Turnover after turnover allowed Avon to trim nine points off the Mitchell Christian lead in only 1:38, and with 1:11 to go, the MCHS lead was down to 58-47. Ultimately, Avon ran out of time, but given a few extra minutes, might have been able to make things interesting.
"We lost our poise," Young said. "We didn't guard anybody and we made poor mental choices. Our goal is always to play 32 minutes and tonight was really 24. We got up 20, and instead of trying to take it out further at the end of the game, we just let them back into it with poor decisions."
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The late collapse for Mitchell Christian was a bit of a downer on what was otherwise a pretty strong performance. The Eagles' zone defense gave Avon fits early, allowing MCHS to claim a 26-6 lead midway through the second quarter.
"We were a little too patient at times, and they took it to us on defense," Avon coach Mel Fathke said. "Their defense played well."
After Avon's Jeff Bertus scored the game's first basket, Mitchell Christian scored 11 consecutive points to take control. After taking a 16-6 lead into the second quarter, MCHS expanded its lead once again with a 10-0 run to the open the quarter.
"Early we came out ready to play," Young said. "It's unfortunate that the game had to end the way it did, because we did play pretty good for three quarters. I just wish we would have finished it."
Jesse Tolsma once again led Mitchell Christian with 22 points and 10 rebounds, but Alex Carnes, who finished with 12 points and six rebounds, gave the Eagles a boost in the first half as they built their early cushion. He had eight points before halftime, including the first four of the game for his team on offensive rebounds and putbacks.
Cody Thomsen and Matt Beukelman both added 11 points for Mitchell Christian, and Young was especially pleased with the efforts of Carnes and Beukelman, who were aggressive in looking for their shots on offense.
"Both Matt and Alex had probably the best game of their career," Young said.
Avon, which continues to play without Dakota Wesleyan recruit Matt Dykstra, was led by Marshall Cihak, who had 14 points, five assists and five rebounds. Bertus and Earv Archambeau had 12 points apiece and Adam Oster had a team-high six assists.
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Matt Nielsen had 10 assists for Mitchell Christian.
Avon is now 1-7 and will host Andes Central Thursday. No. 6 Mitchell Christian will host No. 5 Viborg, which is also 9-0, on Thursday.
