HARRISBURG -- The dog days of last season are over, so far.
The Mitchell Kernel boys basketball team recorded at least 90 points for the second straight game en route to beating Harrisburg 100-84 on the road in an Eastern South Dakota Conference game Tuesday night.
How are the Kernels becoming so successful? Mitchell second-year head coach Erik Skoglund said it's simple, it's teamwork.
"Because we have the skill development to get the ball to the paint and get by somebody, it's creating better shots for our perimeter guys," he said.
The Kernels (2-0, 2-0 ESD) built their lead in the second quarter, when they outscored the Tigers 31-22 in the frame. Mitchell shot 54 percent from the field to build a 13-point lead at halftime and rode the lead through the duration of the game, securing its second win of the season. With the victory, the Kernels surpass last year's win mark.
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Mitchell, which built its largest lead (19) of the game in the third quarter, shot 48 percent in the contest and outrebounded the Tigers 48-34, with the Kernels grabbing 32 defensive rebounds.
"We're trusting each other," Mitchell senior Carter Brewster said. "We boarded it up and got in transition, and that's the most important part for us."
Brewster was a threat in the paint all night, along with teammate Beau Brown. Brewster finished with a double-double with a season-high 21 points and 12 rebounds. Brown recorded a game-high 33 points and had eight rebounds for the Kernels.
"(Beau) was unbelievable on the open floor and we didn't have anybody in the gaps to stop him," Harrisburg head coach Scott Langerock said. "He did whatever he wanted when he wanted. He's very good at getting to the rim and creating offense for his teammates.
"Our number one priority was stopping him and obviously, we failed at that miserably."
Brown was 13-of-23 from the field with two threes and 5-of-6 from the free throw line, while adding eight rebounds and four assists.
Harrisburg was led by Wil Johnson with 28 points, including seven 3-pointers. Jayce Corlett had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers, who shot 44 percent from the field and 55 percent from the line.
Mitchell returns home to host Rapid City Central and Rapid City Stevens this weekend at the Corn Palace. Friday's contest against the Cobblers is at 8 p.m., while Saturday's game against the Raiders is at 1:30 p.m.
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Despite starting the season 2-0, Skoglund said his team has a lot of adjustments to make going forward.
We've got a ton of improvement to make on the defensive end," Skoglund said. "The Tigers could drive on us at will, and it's something we have to work on."
NOTES: Mitchell junior starter Kanin Nelson left the game with an injury in the second quarter and did not return. His status for Friday's contest against Rapid City Central is unknown. ... Mitchell's only win of last season came against Harrisburg in the second game of the year. ... Both teams made nine 3-pointers Tuesday, with Harrisburg's Johnson leading the way with seven. Mitchell senior Ben Miller added three.
Mitchell (2-0, 2-0 ESD)
Tyler Houwman 0-3 0-0 0; Jaron Weich 3-6 2-2 9; Carter Brewster 7-11 7-9 21; Beau Brown 13-23 5-6 33; Kanin Nelson 1-1 3-4 6; Jed Schmidt 0-3 1-2 1; Connor Morgan 1-3 0-0 3; Ben Miller 3-7 0-0 9; Elijah Pommer 0-0 0-0 0; Gray Determan 2-5 4-4 9; Kyle Jamison 0-0 2-2 2; Keegan Soukup 1-4 3-4 5; Alex Hartman 1-1 0-0 2; Wyatt Smith 0-0 0-0 0; Totals: 32-67 27-33 100.
Harrisburg (0-2, 0-2 ESD)
Justin Jacobson 2-5 0-0 5; Cody Eide 7-19 4-9 19; Jayce Corlett 5-12 5-10 15; Kain Kittleson 0-0 0-0 0; Kian Wilcox 2-7 2-2 6; Zach Lanier 0-0 0-0 0; Wil Johnson 9-17 3-4 28; Connor Erickson 1-2 2-2 4; Matt Pohlmann 3-4 1-4 7; Totals: 29-66 17-31 84.
Mitchell 27 58 81 100
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Harrisburg 23 45 64 84
Three-point goals: M 9-24 (Weich 1, Brown 2, Nelson 1, Morgan 1, Miller 3, Determan 1), H 9-23 (Jacobson 1, Eide 1, Johnson 7); Rebounds: M 48 (Brewster 12, Brown 8), H 34 (Corlett 11); Assists: M 10 (Brown 4), H 11 (Corlett 4); Steals: M 11 (Brown 3), H 11 (Corlett); Turnovers: M 16, H 13; Personal fouls: M 24, H 22; Technical fouls: M, none. H, one.
Subvarsity scores
JV: Harrisburg won 80-79. Gray Determan had 17 points, Jed Schmidt added 11 points and Connor Morgan tallied 10 points.
Sophomores: Harrisburg won 62-54. Reed Overweg had a team-high 13 points and six rebounds. Cody Reichelt added eight points and six rebounds.
Freshmen A: Harrisburg won 77-34. Vincent Michael had 14 points.
Freshmen B: Harrisburg won 69-32. Miles Rolle recorded 11 points.
