Golden Eagles rout Mitchell boys

Once Aberdeen Central got going Friday night at the Corn Palace, the Mitchell boys basketball team could not answer.

The Golden Eagles shot 61 percent in the first half, while the Kernels were held to 19 percent shooting, as Aberdeen Central had a 20-point halftime lead and cruised to a 62-30 Eastern South Dakota Conference victory.

Decided by 32 points, the game was easily Aberdeen Central's most convincing win of the season, while Mitchell (0-12, 0-8 ESD) was held to a season-low 30 points, continuing the Kernels' offensive struggles for another night.

"It was a pretty inept performance on our part," Mitchell coach Todd Neuendorf said following the loss. "Everyone switches screens against us because we can't adjust. We've been working on this and we just won't adjust. It's frustrating that we can't execute the way I know we can."

Aberdeen Central (5-6, 4-3 ESD) led 9-6 with 3 minutes and 22 seconds remaining in the first quarter, and went on a 15-3 run over the next eight minutes, highlighted by a pair of Andrew Bergan dunks to put the Golden Eagles up 24-9. Golden Eagles coach Brent Norberg said he was pleased with his team's defensive effort to take Mitchell off its game early.

"I thought we defended well the whole game," he said. "To hold them to 19 percent shooting in the first half was key, especially on the road because you don't want a team to get hot early and we were able to keep them from scoring early."

For good measure, Aberdeen Central scored the first nine points of the second half, capped by a three-point play from Collin Stoebner to make it 40-11 with just more than 2 minutes elapsed in the third quarter. The Golden Eagles led by as many as 35 points in the second half before the Kernels' scored their final 10 points in the last 5 minutes of the game.

"Offensively, we were patient and got some inside shots on offense and we did the things we needed to do to get a road win," Norberg said.

The victory was not without pain for the Golden Eagles Friday, as 6-foot-7 sophomore Bergan went down with in an injury in the second quarter, after injuring his left knee after on a fast-break opportunity. He did not return to the game and Norberg said his team would likely have to prepare to be without Bergan for a while.

Stoebner scored 13 points for the Golden Eagles, who continue their conference road swing at Yankton today. Cole Bergan and Nathan Rook each scored 11 points.

Mitchell pulled down 14 offensive rebounds to outrebound Aberdeen Central 35-27 but committed 15 turnovers to Aberdeen Central's three giveaways.

"I wouldn't say our defense was that strong either but compared to how we played on offense, it looked a lot better," Neuendorf said.

Kiel Nelson led Mitchell in scoring and rebounding, logging nine points and eight rebounds. Caden Hinker, an eighth-grader, scored six points for the Kernels, and Mitchell's leading scorer Carter Cavanaugh was held to five points.

The Kernels - who have now lost 35 straight games - next play at Brandon Valley Thursday.

Subvarsity

JV: Aberdeen Central won 53-49. Koby Larson and Derek Factor each scored 10 points in the loss.

Sophomores: Aberdeen Central won 48-39. Caden Hinker scored 13 for Mitchell, with Ben Helleloid adding 11.

Freshmen A: Aberdeen Central won 50-47. Gage Renken scored 24 points for the Kernels.

Freshmen B: Mitchell won 47-34. Evan DeMaranville scored 16 points for Mitchell, while teammate Logan Cunningham added 10.

Aberdeen Central 62, Mitchell 30

Aberdeen Central (5-6, 4-3 ESD): Nathan Rook 5-9 0-1 11 Jonah Dohrer 2-4 1-4 5 Collin Stoebner 6-7 1-1 13 Cole Bergan 5-5 0-1 11 Brandon Kusler 1-4 0-1 2 Mason Flakus 0-1 1-2 1 Andrew Bergan 2-5 0-0 4 Brandon Fauth 0-3 0-0 0 Jordan Schnaidt 2-2 0-0 4 Salesi Mounga 0-2 0-0 0 Greg Liddell 0-1 0-0 0 Seth Martens 0-0 0-0 0 Ben LaPointe 2-2 2-3 6 Sammi Mounga 0-1 0-0 0 Trey Harms 0-0 2-2 Alex Harms 1-1 1-1 3 Totals 26-47 8-16 62

Mitchell (0-12, 0-8 ESD): Kiel Nelson 3-11 3-7 9 Jordon Johnson 0-2 0-0 0 Carter Cavanaugh 2-7 0-0 5 Baley Miller 1-3 0-1 2 Vincent Michael 0-2 1-2 1 Kaden Soukup 1-6 0-0 3 Derek Factor 0-3 2-3 2 Tate Larson 0-0 0-0 0 Carter Jacobsen 0-1 0-0 0 Cooper Knutson 1-2 0-0 2 Caden Hinker 3-5 0-0 6 Hunter Stahle 0-1 0-0 Totals 11-43 6-12 30

AC 14 31 47 62

M 6 11 18 30

3-point goals: AC 2-13 (Rock, C. Bergan), M 2-20 (Soukup, Cavanaugh); Rebounds-offensive: AC 27-4 (Rock 5), M 35-14 (Nelson 8); Total fouls: AC 16, M 15. Fouled out: none. Assists: AC 8 (Rock 3), M 9 (Factor 4); Turnovers: AC 3, M 15. Blocks: AC 0, M 0. Steals: AC 15 (Rock 4), M 1 (Factor).