MITCHELL — For the second time in the first three games at the new Mitchell High School Gym, the Kernel boys basketball team went to overtime.

Unlike the first occasion, Mitchell came up short on Thursday night.

After forcing an extra frame on a basket in the final seconds of regulation, the Kernels went quiet, as Tea Area won the overtime 11-2 and the game 57-48 in a defensive Eastern South Dakota Conference battle.

While both squads entered the contest receiving votes in the Class AA South Dakota Prep Media poll, Tea Area (9-2, 5-1 ESD) was No. 4 in the seed-point standings with Mitchell (5-4, 3-2 ESD) at No. 7, presenting the Kernels with an opportunity for a big win. Instead, head coach Ryker Kreutzfeldt was left feeling they squandered the chance.

“We’re heading in the direction of a should have, could have, would have season,” Kreutzfeldt said. “We’ve got a lot of season left, and nothing’s taken away from this team because of tonight, but the difference between great teams and good or average teams is they find a way to win games like this. We’re struggling to do that.”

After a quick start, steady offense was hard to come by for the Kernels. Mitchell sprinted out to a 16-6 lead 5 1/2 minutes into the game, but a quick switch to zone defense by the Titans caused all sorts of problems for the home squad. According to Kreutzfeldt, the Kernels were ready to see a zone defense from Tea, but they were unable to attack the scheme’s weaknesses and therefore never put any pressure on the Titans.

The Kernels committed 22 turnovers, including 14 across during the middle two quarters where they were outscored 23-13, and shot 16-for-55 (29.1%) from the field.

“You’re never, ever going to beat a good team if you turn it over that many times. You’ve just got no shot. And that’s not including shooting under 30% from the field. There’s just no way,” Kreutzfeldt said. “We shouldn’t have even been in the game, but it was a heck of a defensive effort.”

For as disjointed as Mitchell’s effort was on offense, it was equally good on defense, led by a standout performance from Kendan Skinner on that end of the floor. The Kernels’ senior guard was key to limiting Tea Area’s Gavin Shawd, one of the top scorers in Class AA so far this season at more than 23 points per game, to six points in regulation. In overtime, Shawd shook loose for nine of his 15 points.

Landon Dierks / Mitchell Republic

“Kendan was a warrior. He’s not a guy we look to for many points, but we told him he can go win a game on the defensive side,” Kreutzfeldt said. “We didn’t deserve to win the game, but based on his effort defensively, we should have won the dang game. A guy like Shawd is going to get his points eventually, but six points in regulation and no 3-pointers all night is an unbelievable effort.”

Colton Smith posted 16 points, 21 rebounds, seven assists and four steals, while Owen Raml offered 11 points for the Kernels. Lincoln Bottum scored nine points, as Collin Weier chipped in five points, five rebounds and two steals. Skinner made a 3-pointer on his only shot attempt of the night to go with four rebounds and two assists.

For Tea Area, Grifin Wiebenga and Mitch Grant each dropped in 16 points, and Wiebenga added four rebounds, three assists and eight steals to his tally. The Titans shot 21 of 51 (41.2%) from the field and had just nine turnovers, helping them overcome a 40-23 Mitchell advantage in rebounding.

Next time out, Mitchell faces archrival Huron as part of the Throwback Classic at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

Dierks covers prep and collegiate athletics across the Mitchell Republic’s coverage region area. His focus areas include: Mitchell High School football and boys basketball; area high school football, volleyball, basketball, baseball and track and field; and South Dakota State football. He is also at the forefront of the Mitchell Republic’s podcasting efforts. Dierks is a Mitchell native who graduated from South Dakota State University with his bachelor’s degree in journalism in May 2020. He joined the Mitchell Republic sports staff in August 2021. He can be reached at ldierks@mitchellrepublic.com and found on Twitter at @LDierksy.