Tigers use strong finish for victory against Mitchell

HURON — The Huron Tigers overcame frigid shooting in the first quarter and pulled away mid third quarter en route to a 46-32 win over the Mitchell Kernels Saturday night at Huron Arena.
Huron evens its record at 1-1, while Mitchell drops to 0-1 after its first game of the season
“They (Mitchell) played us pretty tough tonight, just like Yankton did last night,” said Tiger mentor Tim Buddenhagen following the win. “We were tight tonight, but our defense kept us in it until the offense got warmed up and we found some places to take advantage.”
Both teams had difficulty finding the bottom of the hoop in the opening moments. Kiel Nelson finally broke the ice for the Kernels with four minutes gone in the quarter.
Isaac Carr knotted the score a minute later but back-to-back baskets in the final minute of the period staked Mitchell to a 6-2 lead after one quarter.
Both teams were getting decent looks, but neither was able to get anything to fall.
During the quarter break, someone snuck out and pried the lid off the Tigers’ basket, as Huron came out on fire to open the second stanza.
Kobe Busch hit a long three, Alex Hill matched the feat and then Hill made a steal and took it coast-to-coast for a bucket. Another Busch three made it 12-6 with only two minutes gone in the quarter.
But the well went dry again for Huron, as Mitchell scored six straight points to knot the score once again. Busch, however, scored from long range again and hit a pair of free throws to give Huron a 17-12 lead at the halftime break.
Mitchell quickly got things rolling in the third quarter, outscoring the Tigers 8-2 over the first three minutes and taking a 20-19 lead as Derek Factor capped the run with a three-pointer.
But then the script flipped.
Alex Hill got it started with a free throw to tie the game, then Carr scored nine straight points - including a three-pointer and a putback layup - as Huron took its largest lead, 29-20 heading to the fourth quarter.

“Isaac really caught fire in that stretch,” Buddenhagen said. “He hit a shot early then missed a couple and stopped shooting, so it was good to see him heat up and get some confidence back in his shot.”
The Tigers’ momentum continued in the early going as Busch and Tanner Evers pushed the Huron lead to 13 points with a pair of field goals. Factor converted an old-fashioned three-point play to cut the deficit back to 10 for Mitchell, but Evers pushed the margin back to a dozen with a short jumper as the clock rolled bast the 5:30 mark.
The Huron lead ballooned to 17 with two minutes to play on another Carr basket and the Tigers held on for their first win of the season.
“The guys did a much better job of stepping up tonight,” said Buddenhagen. “We got some post-up mismatches and we need them to recognize that more so that we can take advantage when we get the opportunity. Overall, we outplayed them tonight and that was difficult because they played us very tough.”
Busch led the Tigers with 18 points and added seven boards, while Carr added 13 and nine to lead Huron to its first win of the season.
Factor was the lone Kernel to dent double figures, with 10 points.
Huron is back on the Arena floor on Tuesday, when the Brookings Bobcats come to town in another ESD matchup.
In preliminary action, Huron took three of four, winning the JV game 50-40, the Sophomore game 55-38 and the A freshman game 47-39, but dropping the freshman B game, 42-30.

Mitchell     6  12  20  32
Huron     2  17  29  46

Mitchell (0-1): Kiel Nelson 2 0-2 4; Jordon Johnson 3 0-0 6; Carter Cavanaugh 2 3-3 7; Baley Miller 0 1-2 1; Vincent Michael 1 0-0 2; Kaden Soukup 0 1-2 1; Derek Factor 3 2-3 10; Carter Jacobsen 0 1-2 1. Totals: 11 8-14 32.

Huron (1-1): Kobe Busch 6 4-4 18; Isaac Carr 5 2-3 13; Tanner Evers 3 0-0 6; Sean Flanery 1 0-0 3; Alex Hill 2 1-2 6. Totals: 17 7-9 46.

FG: M - 11-39 28%; H - 17-50, 34%. 3-pt FG: M - 2-14 (Factor 2); H - 5-21 (Busch 2, Carr, Flanery and Hill, 1 each). Rebounds: M - 23 (Nelson 5); H - 40 (Carr 9, Busch 7). TO: M - 16; H - 14. Fouls: M - 14; H - 16.

PHOTOS BY MIKE CARROLL/PLAINSMAN
Huron’s Tanner Evers dribbles past Mitchell’s Kiel Nelson during their game Saturday at Huron Arena.
Huron’s Dawson Diede goes up for a short jumper during a game against Mitchell on Saturday at Huron Arena.