The Mitchell Christian School boys basketball team scored 41 points in the second and third quarters, but needed to fend off a late Tripp-Delmont/Armour run to pick up a 65-61 home win on Thursday, thanks to a 40-point night from Alec Nelson.
Trailing by eight after the first quarter, the Golden Eagles exploded for 21 points in the second quarter to take a 32-26 lead at halftime, and then extended the lead to 13 going into the fourth quarter.
Mitchell Christian never trailed in the second half, but TDA scored 22 points on four 3-pointers in the final frame before its rally fell short.
"We know when we have a lead the other team is going to fight, scratch and claw," MCS head coach Jesse Tolsma said. "TDA has a nice team, they have some nice guards and they fought their way back into it, but the kids did a nice job to make some plays down the stretch and get the win."
Nelson was all over the court, shredding the Nighthawk defense on 13 of 25 shooting, while also snatching eight rebounds and making three steals.
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Even as Nelson caught fire, Mitchell Christian never changed its offense and his teammates were able to make some plays when TDA focused on him. Ty Vander Pol chipped in 10 points and six rebounds, while Luke Knutson added eight points and five boards.
"I thought he did a great job coming out aggressive from the start," Tolsma said. "He got going early, he went to the basket and did a nice job of attacking. When he got going, the other guys stepped up and play off him. That's what it's going to take-a good balance."
Micah Lau led TDA (3-6) with 18 points, while Kasan Abedi and Cade Gemar added 11 points apiece. The Nighthawks are back in action on Tuesday against Centerville in Tripp.
Mitchell Christian (5-5) travels to Ethan on Thursday.
Mitchell Christian 65, TDA 61
Tripp-Delmont/Armour (3-6): Kasan Abedi 4 0-0 11, Micah Lau 7 0-0 18, Cade Gemar 3 5-6 11, James Love 3 0-1 6, Jacob Kriz 3 1-1 7, Brady Dufek 0 1-2 1, Carson Koehn 2 3-4 7, Logan VanPelt 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 10-14 61.
Mitchell Christian (5-5): Alec Nelson 13 11-15 40, Ty Vander Pol 4 1-3 10, Knutson 3 2-4 8, Max Reynen 1 0-0 2, Jens Enga 0 0-0 0, Joey Feiner 2 0-0 5. Totals 23 14-22 65.
TDA 19 26 39 61
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MCS 11 32 52 65
3-pointers: TDA 7 (Lau 4, Abedi 3), MCS 5 (Nelson 3, Vander Pol, Feiner). Fouled out: Kriz, Koehn, Vander Pol. Total fouls: TDA 18, MCS 11.
