By Noah Dalton
LEOPOLD — Mitchell High School played their final Patoka Lake Athletic Conference game of the season on Tuesday, taking on Perry Central to make up for a previously-scheduled game this season that was moved because of inclement weather.
The Commodores emerged from the battle victorious by a tight margin of just three points, 51-48, in a game that was decided in the final minute.
The fourth quarter saw the Bluejackets coming back from a seven-point deficit to take the lead midway through the period. Their late-game charge was led by the returning Gavin Robinson, who missed the team’s last game against Brown County with an injury.
Robinson scored four straight baskets for Mitchell to give them the lead for the first time since the second quarter.
Bluejackets’ head coach Clint Roesler noted the impact of having Robinson, who recently crossed the 1,000 points scored mark for his career, back in the lineup.
“It’s nice to have your thousand-point scorer in the game. I thought he played really well. He’s still not at 100%, so I commend him for coming out and giving his all tonight,” said Roesler. “I thought he had a heck of a game. It was nice to have him back, we needed that.”
After a basket and made free-throw from Kaden Mullis, the Bluejackets went up five, 46-41 with 3:22 left to play.
After five answered points, Perry Central tied up the game with 1:30 remaining before a putback from Jayden Zapeda put Mitchell back in around 40 seconds later.
The game was ultimately decided by a three-pointer from Commodores’ guard Reese Litherland, who buried the shot just seconds after Mitchell’s previous basket to give Perry Central a one-point lead, 49-48.
The Bluejackets had a chance to tie with just under 10 seconds remaining after two free-throws made from Gage Clark extended the Commodores’ lead to three, but their shot from beyond the arc missed as time expired.
Roesler pointed to the team’s struggles shooting for the night as a key to the team losing. The Bluejackets finished the night with zero made threes (0/10), while also shooting 60% from the free-throw line (6/10).
“They just hit some shots that we didn’t hit,” he said. “Shots are a difference maker. Over the last four games, we’ve been shooting, I think it’s 46% from two, 28% from three, and 56% from the line and it’s hard to win close games when you’re not hitting shots.”
Though the team’s shooting percentages may not be where Roesler would like to see them, he said he’s been pleased with their execution offensively, saying many of their possessions are ending up with good looks.
“I think the execution is perfect. I think we’re getting to our spots. We’re following game plans. We’ve just gotta finish, and we’re struggling with that right now,” he said.
“Shooting is a separator, and we’re not hitting right now. Hopefully, we can get that figured out. We have capable shooters. We have guys that can hit the three, we just have to be able to do it in the game.”
Robinson was the top scorer for the night with 20 points. Just behind him was Mullis, who finished with 17 points.
Clark led Perry Central in scoring with 16 points. Also in double figures for the Commodores was Litherland, who had 12 points.
Mitchell finishes PLAC play with a conference record of 2-4. Paoli currently sits atop the field with an unbeaten PLAC record of 4-0, with games against Perry Central and Crawford County remaining to secure sole possession of the crown.
The Bluejackets will next play on Friday night, traveling to Edgewood to take on the Mustangs.
They’ll enter the game having dropped three straight, losing eight of their last nine games.
Roesler will be looking to make sure his group continues to keep their spirits high and remain focused, despite the tough stretch of recent results.
“I’m worried about our mental fortitude right now. I’m worried about where we’re at. Losing this many games in a row is tough on a group. We’ve gotta make sure we stay together,” he said.
“We’ve gotta make sure that we’re picking each other up in the locker room and outside the locker room, at home, everything.We’ve gotta support one another and we’ve got to finish this thing as strong as possible and get on the right track before sectional.”
