By Noah Dalton
MITCHELL – Mitchell High School won their second game in two nights on Saturday, beating Eastern Greene 64-38, following up on a nearly 30-point win over Crawford County on Friday night.
Much like the previous night’s matchup against the Wolfpack, Mitchell jumped out to an early lead, this time allowing the Thunderbirds to score just two points in the first quarter, on their way to handily winning the game.
Defensively, the Bluejackets were able to pressure Eastern Greene heavily in the first half, utilizing a full-court press to force eight second-quarter turnovers. Mitchell head coach Jackson Ryan said the team’s work on that end of the floor was a group effort that was achieved through solid communication. He credited seniors Kale England and Ben Seitzinger for their leadership, which he said played a big role in the team’s success.
“Our press was really good. Coach Hudson, his kids always play hard and they’re always very disciplined. And I feel like offensively, that really shows. That dribble drive, if you make one mistake, they take it,” he said. “But, just a total team effort and when we’re talking through the entire possession and rebounding, it makes everything easier, especially offensively too. I thought Ben and Kale a lot tonight were just communicating and helping and just a great job stepping up and being leaders on both ends the floor like we expect. So, total team effort but I really loved how those two played on that end of the floor.”
It wasn’t just on the defensive end that this win was a total team effort from Mitchell, as the Bluejackets had 11 players scoring for them at some point in the matchup, with three players, Austin Mosier with 12 points, England with 11 points and Bryson Shoults with 10 points, reaching double figures.
Mosier has been the team’s leading scorer in three of the team’s four games this season, though Ryan said he’s been particularly impressed with his play in the last two, and his ability to consistently make the right play on the offensive end.
“Last night against Crawford County, and tonight, I think he got going a little more offensively in the second half, but he might not be lighting it up scoring this weekend, but I thought it was two of the best games he has played in a Mitchell uniform,” Ryan said.
“Just making the right reads and getting his teammates involved. After his first two games leading us in scoring, teams are going to scout us and know I’m going to put the ball in his hands a lot, and he’s just got to make the right reads on it and he really did that this weekend. So, very proud of the growth that he has made as a player.”
In their three wins, the team’s unselfishness and ball movement has been among their highest strengths and Saturday’s game was no exception.
“That’s those guys just playing together and constantly we preach making the extra pass. We preach good, great, every day in practice, pregame, and everything like that. And, it’s easy to sit there and say that you have to have an unselfish group of kids to do that and we bought in and that’s the result of it,” said Ryan.
Coming up on the schedule for Mitchell are two more back-to-back games next week, the first of which will be on the road against 2A #4 ranked Linton-Stockton, who defeated the Bluejackets in last year’s sectional semi-finals, on their way to reaching the state championship game.
The Miners will serve as the toughest competition yet faced by an improved Mitchell squad, who now sit at 3-1 on the season, opposite last year’s start of 1-3 through their first four games.
“Not just with us, not just in our sectional, you look at recent history of Southern Indiana, Linton is one of the top programs regardless of sport, but especially basketball. So, anytime you get the opportunity to play against them, you’ve got to bring your A-game and we’ve got to keep getting better on both ends of the floor this week,” Ryan said looking ahead towards the matchup.
“There’s no doubt that it’s a huge game for us, a sectional opponent at their house and a good measuring stick for us. They’re a great team that had a really good win against Clay City to start the season. So again, a good opportunity to see where we’re at. We want to be battling with them in March. That’s the goal and this is just as a step in that direction.”
Stats
Mitchell
- Austin Mosier: 12 points, 5/8 shooting, 1/2 FT, 3 rebounds
- Dawson Irwin: 2 points, 1/5 shooting, 0/0 FT, 2 rebounds
- Ben Seitzinger: 7 points, 2/4 shooting, 2/2 FT, 3 rebounds
- Gavin Robinson: 4 points, 2/8 shooting, 0/0 FT, 5 rebounds
- Kale England: 11 points, 4/14 shooting, 1/4 FT, 5 rebounds
- Bryson Shoults: 10 points, 3/5 shooting, 2/3 FT, 0 rebounds
- Aiden Pridemore: 6 points, 2/3 shooting, 1/2 FT, 0 rebounds
- Nate Robertson: 5 points, 1/3 shooting, 3/3 FT, 5 rebounds
- Carl Chenault: 2 points, 1/1 shooting, 0/0 FT, 3 rebounds
- Lucas Gosnell: 4 points, 2/2 shooting, 0/0 FT, 1 rebound
- Tate Woods: 1 point, 0/1 shooting, 1/2 FT, 0 rebounds
Eastern Greene
- Will Inman: 13 points, 4/7 shooting, 3/6 FT, 2 rebounds
- Coby Sykes: 14 points, 6/9 shooting, 2/2 FT, 2 rebounds
- Jack Rees: 7 points, 2/7 shooting, 2/2 FT, 8 rebounds
- Dane Talbott: 0 points, 0/5 shooting, 0/0 FT, 5 rebounds
- Jonas Hawk: 0 points, 0/2 shooting, 0/0 FT, 2 rebounds
- Roman Valentine: 2 points, 1/2 shooting, 0/0 FT, 1 rebound
- Ayden Deckard: 0 points, 0/3 shooting, 0/0 FT, 1 rebound
