By Noah Dalton
BROWNSTOWN — After picking up wins in their previous two games, Mitchell High School’s momentum was halted by Brownstown Central, who beat the Bluejackets 67-46 on Saturday.
The biggest difference in favor of the Braves in the win was their three-point shooting. They were able to knock down 11 shots from beyond the arc, compared to just two for Mitchell.
It was a cold night in general for the Bluejackets, with the team shooting just 39% from the floor.
Mitchell head coach Clint Roesler said he was happy with many of the looks his team got throughout the night and he didn’t feel the misses were the result of them taking bad shots. Instead, Roesler chalked it up to the ebbs and flows of the sport, with the team coming off a couple of strong shooting performances in their recent wins.
“I’m going to keep it as simplistic as possible. I feel like we got good shots, we just didn’t hit anything,” he said. “We had been shooting really, really well, and I feel like we were probably due for a game where we didn’t shoot as well, and unfortunately it was against Brownstown, who’s a quality opponent.”
The Bluejackets were perhaps hurt most by their shooting troubles during the first quarter, where they connected on just 1/10 shot attempts. They finished the period trailing 16-5 after Brownstown Central started the game on a 10-0 run.
A layup from Mitchell senior Garrett Floerke three minutes into the second quarter was the team’s first basket since early in the opening frame.
From that point onward, the two sides played a fairly even game.
Thanks largely to the shooting of Linkan Brittain and Carter Covert, who combined for 10 of Brownstown’s 11 made threes on the night, the Braves were able to hang on to the double-digit lead they’d accrued early on for the remainder of the game.
Roesler felt the performance showed the team’s improvement from their blow-out loss to another Jackson County opponent, Trinity Lutheran, that opened the season. Specifically, he was happy with his team’s improved efforts to take care of the ball, turning it over just 11 times against Brownstown, compared to 20 against the Cougars in what was nearly a 30-point defeat (72-47).
“I don’t feel angry. I’m not a moral victory guy, but I’m not upset about how we played,” said Roesler.
“It’s game six in the season, and if you go from Trinity Lutheran to now, we’re a different ball club, and I appreciate our effort. I would say that Brownstown is a better defensive team than Trinity Lutheran, and I think we had over double the turnovers at Trinity, so we’re taking care of the ball much better in the last three or four games, which is really key for us,” he continued.
Covert was the leading scorer for the night with 20 points. Behind him were Brittain, who scored 12 points, and Silas Brown, who scored 10.
Mitchell’s leading scorer for the evening was Gavin Robinson, with 11 points. Assisting him were Kaden Mullis, who scored 10 points, and the trio of Gavin Martin, Garrett Floerke and Parker Felter, who each scored seven.
Next up for the Bluejackets is a key Patoka Lake Athletic Conference matchup against last season’s 1A Indiana State Champions, Orleans on Tuesday.
Heading into the game, both the Bulldogs (1-0) and Mitchell (2-0) are currently undefeated in PLAC games.
Roesler hopes the matchup against Brownstown, an Indiana 2A State Champion two seasons ago and a regional championship winner last year, helped to set them up for success against Orleans.
“It’s always fun to scout quality opponents and quality coaching staff and we play back-to-back, two really quality programs. It gives us a measuring stick of where we’re at and what we need to fine-tune and work on,” he said.
“I think we’re getting closer and closer every day, so I look forward to the challenge of getting Orleans on Tuesday at home. I like where we’re at right now as a team, so I’m hopeful we can quickly hit the reset button and get ready for Tuesday.”
