WATERTOWN — Only two players scored more than four points for the Mitchell High School boys basketball team, but when in doubt, the Kernels looked to the hot hands of Colton Smith and Dylan Soulek.
Powered by 46 combined points from the duo, Mitchell recovered from a slow start to take down Eastern South Dakota Conference foe Watertown, 63-47, on Saturday night in Watertown.
The Kernels trailed 12-10 at the end of the first quarter, but used an 18-8 second quarter to stake themselves to a lead Watertown never truly threatened again. Smith played a large role in getting the Kernels rolling, as the freshman forward came off the bench to score 18 of Mitchell’s 28 first-half points. By the end of the third quarter, it was 44-30 Mitchell.
Smith finished with a career-high 28 points on 12 of 14 shooting from the field and collected 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals in a double-double effort. Soulek added 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting alongside four rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Aiden Myers contributed three points, four rebounds and four assists.
As a team, Mitchell shot 26 of 47 (55.3%) from the field, with Smith and Soulek accounting for 19 for 24 (79.2%).
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For Watertown (7-11, 2-5 ESD), Caden Beauchamp scored 14 points with four rebounds and Kohen Kranz tossed in 10 points with two steals.
Mitchell (14-4, 6-1 ESD) visits Brandon Valley (12-6, 5-1 ESD) on Tuesday in a contest likely to decide the conference race. The Kernels can claim the title outright for the second-straight season with a win.
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