Aberdeen Central’s offense went from mid-winter thaw in the first half to polar vortex in the second half, as the Golden Eagles gave up a second-half rally to the third-ranked team in Class AA boys’ basketball in a 53-44 loss to Mitchell in Eastern South Dakota Conference action at Golden Eagles Arena.

Central got off to a hot early start, forcing eight turnovers in the first quarter and leading by as many as 10 points.

“I thought we were active, created some turnovers, got a hand on some balls, created some travels by taking away stuff they wanted to do,” said Central coach Brent Norberg. 

Even when the Kernels tried to force the issue in the second quarter, closing the gap to three points with just under three and a half minutes to play, the Golden Eagles still maintained the upper hand, squirting away to lead 24-18 at the break.

“Last couple games for a while here, we’ve been struggling scoring,” said Central senior Brendan Phillips. “We were able to find our spark in the first half.”

But it was Mitchell that found its spark in the second half.

The Kernels took their first lead of the night with 1:36 remaining in the third quarter, then rattled off back-to-back fast-break layups to stretch that lead to five by quarter’s end.

“Defensively, we played really hard tonight, but we can’t give up six and eight points off run-out layups,” Norberg said. “We did, and that’s the difference in the game.”

Mitchell also benefited from a pair of long scoring droughts for Aberdeen Central, which did not score in the final four minutes of the third quarter, then went nearly four and a half minutes in the fourth quarter without scoring.

“Second half, we got some good looks, just weren’t able to fall,” Phillips said. “But being able to compete with a top team in the state is pretty important to us.”

The Kernels, who were just 2-of-7 from the free throw line in the first half, sealed the victory by going 6-for-6 in the final minute.

“I thought our execution-wise, we had a lot better shots tonight than we had the last two games, especially in the second half,” Norberg said. “Like I told them at halftime, we had great looks, they just rolled around the rim and didn’t go in. You can’t fault them, you’re going to take that shot every time. That’s encouraging. We’ve got to get more looks like that.”

Phillips finished with 13 points to lead the way for the Golden Eagles. Jacob Weishaar notched 11 points, while Luke Swanson tallied seven points and seven rebounds.

“Confidence is a big thing,” Phillips said. “We came out with a lot of confidence today. If we do that every game, I think we can stand with any team.”

Mitchell was led by Markus Talley’s 16 points and seven steals. Colton Smith had 14 points and seven rebounds, while Gavin Hinker notched 11 points and nine boards for the Kernels.

Norberg said the key takeaway from Tuesday’s contest needs to be one of adjustment.

“The team we’ll play Friday (Huron) will play a different defense,” Norberg said. “But I’m hoping getting those open looks will give us the confidence that when we get them again, we’ll make them.”

The Golden Eagles head to Huron Friday for a 7 p.m. tip.

MITCHELL (14-2): Colton Smith 7 0-0 14, Markus Talley 5 5-8 16, Landon Soulek 2 1-2 7, Parker Mandel 0 2-2 2, Gavin Hinker 5 1-3 11, Owen Raml 1 1-2 3. Totals 20-41 10-17 53.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (2-12): Brendan Phillips 4 3-4 13, Luke Swanson 2 2-2 7, Colby Dauwen 3 0-0 6, Jacob Weishaar 3 4-4 11, Jack Bertsch 1 0-0 2, Michael Dutenhoffer 1 0-0 2, Turner Bergan 1 0-0 3. Totals 15-47 9-10 44.

Mitchell 7 18 36 53

Aberdeen Central 15 24 31 44

3-point field goals – Talley, Soulek 2; Phillips 2, Swanson, Weishaar, Bergan. Total fouls – Mitchell 12; Aberdeen Central 17. Rebounds – Mitchell 31 (Hinker 9, Smith 7); Aberdeen Central 26 (Swanson 7). Assists – Mitchell 8 (Smith 3, Talley 3); Aberdeen Central 8 (Dauwen 2, Dutenhoffer 2). Turnovers – Mitchell 15; Aberdeen Central 15. Blocks – Mitchell 4 (Hinker 2); Aberdeen Central 0. Steals – Mitchell 9 (Talley 7); Aberdeen Central 8 (Dauwen 3).