RAPID CITY – When push came to shove, the Mitchell Kernels flexed their muscles enough to get past rival Huron Thursday night in the Class AA state boys’ basketball quarterfinals at The Summit.

Huron battled back from a horrendous shooting first half to regain the lead early in the third period, but Mitchell, the defending state champions and No. 4 seed, took control late in the quarter and played well enough in the fourth to post the 50-41 victory.

With the win, Mitchell faces No. 1 Sioux Falls Lincoln in a Friday night semifinal that begins at 6 p.m. Huron, the No. 5 seed, takes on No. 8 Spearfish in the consolation semifinals at noon.

“It was one of the most-physical games I think I've ever seen. It was consistent all night. It was just a physical game. Mitchell-Huron can get that way,” Mitchell head coach Ryker Kreutzfeldt said. “We knew going into this it was going to be an absolute war because we knew each other so well … obviously the rivalry. Luckily, we were able to make just a couple more plays in the end.”

 

Huron, which defeated Mitchell 47-38 Jan. 14 in Huron, led only on a pair of occasions – 2-0 and twice early in the third. But the Tigers never backed down and stayed in the game until Mitchell seniors Markus Talley and Gavin Hinker led the team down the stretch.

 

“I thought we just slowed down when we had the ball, we would get in our place,” said Hinker of the second half success. “We were smoother, I guess you could say, and then any time that I would get it in the post, I was slower and I would put the ball down first before I went. It just gave me the opportunity to get my shot off easier.”

 

The Kernels led for much of the first quarter but only by as much as four points on two occasions. The Tigers were fortunate to only by down by four at the end of the quarter after hitting on 1-of-10 from the field. Huron’s lone field goal was a 3-pointer by Colton McNeil that tied the game at 5-5.

Parker Mandel’s 3-pointer put the Kernels back in front and a Hinker reverse layup late in the quarter put Mitchell up 12-8.

The Tigers continued to be ice cold from the field, missing their first four field-goal attempts, and buckets by Mandel and Colton Smith put the Kernels up 16-8 with four minutes remaining in the first half. Anderson Porisch broke the Huron drought with a layup at the 3:00 minute mark.

Huron shot just 17 percent from the field in the first half (3-of-18), but Mitchell wasn’t a ton better offensively, hitting on 8-of-26 from the field. A free throw by Hinker and a running floater by Talley put the Kernels up by eight before a basket by Porisch late made it a 19-13 at halftime.

The Kernels lead was anything but safe and Huron came out in the third quarter by hitting its first two field goals – a 3-pointer by Trace Wenz and a jumper and free throw by Blake Ellwein to tie the game. A turn-around put-back by Porisch on Ellwein’s missed second free throw gave Huron its first lead since 2-0.

Kreutzfeldt said they had to get calmed down again as he felt like they didn't play with much energy coming out of the half.

 

“We were kind of sleepy, which is inexcusable in this situation,” he said. “We had to take an early time out. They made some shots and got it close again, and then they took the lead. But we re-established ourselves and Marcus kind of took the game over offensively, just getting to the rim and not allowing himself to be guarded.”

 

Mitchell ended its drought on two free throws by Hinker. Two straight baskets by Talley put the Kernels back in front 26-24 with 3:17 remaining in the third.

 

The Kernels took a little momentum into the fourth quarter on a basket by Hinker and two layups by Talley, putting Mitchell in front 34-28. Talley had an outstanding third quarter with 11 points on 5-of-6 from the field.

Talley again led the Kernel charge early in the fourth. His steal and feed to Collin Weier opened the scoring and three Talley free throws followed by a Hinker basket put Mitchell up by nine, 41-32 with 5:26 to play.

Huron rallied again and cut the lead to 41-37 on a basket by Porisch and three straight points from David Chase. Mitchell responded with baskets by Hinker and Smith, but the Tigers were still in the game at 45-40 on a 3-pointer by Myles Ellwein with 2:11 to play.

But two buckets from Hinker, the second off a nice feed from Talley, and a free throw by Smith put the Kernels back up by 10 with 53 seconds remaining.

“We had to stay composed,” said Hinker, who had a game-high 18 points. “We knew what was working and we just kept doing it. We didn't lose our heads and just kept playing the way we do.”

Talley finished with 16 points – 14 in the second half -- along with nine rebounds, three assists and four steals.

“That was a kid whose championship dreams weren’t going to be end tonight. He wasn't going to let that happen,” Krevtzfeldt said. “We came into this tournament thinking that this is going to be a game where Marcus is going to have to win it for us. I don't know if this was it, but we definitely aren't going to win this game without how he stepped up.”          ​

 

Smith added nine points as the Kernels shot 53 percent from the field in the second half (10-of-19) and 40 percent overall on 18-of-45 from the field and 13-of-20 from the free-throw line. Mitchell held a slight 27-26 rebounding edge and forced 15 turnovers, while giving up the ball nine times.

Huron, 18-4, was able to bounce back some offensively in the second half, shooting40 percent from the field, but still managed a tough 27 percent for the game on 9-of-33. The Tigers stayed in the game by hitting 19-of-24 free throws. Although Blake Ellwein hit only 1-of-10 from the field, he led the Tigers with 16 points by connecting on 13-of-16 from the line. Porisch added eight points on 4-of-9 shooting.

The Kernels, 16-6, are looking forward to the matchup against the Patriots, who rallied past Spearfish 55-33 Thursday afternoon. Mitchell handed Lincoln its lone loss of the season 69-58 in Jan. 31.

“I'm not too worried about it,” Hinker said. “We're confident and I'm excited to play them.”

Kreutzfeldt feels it will be a great environment at The Summit against the Patriots.

 

“Friday night at the state tournament is the best night in sports,” he said. “Sioux Falls Lincoln is very good. Obviously, we were the only team to get them this year and they know that. They're well aware, so they'll be ready for some revenge. I think they are two very evenly matched teams. It could go either way. It's going to be a close one, it's going to be a tight one, and it’s going to be physical. It's going to be heated, so we're excited for that.”