Travis Kriens, KORNRadio.com
It has been a season of “first time since” for the Mitchell Kernel boys, the No. 1 ranked and seeded team in Class AA with less than two weeks left in the regular season.
Mitchell added another one to its resume Tuesday night with a 60-55 win at Sioux Falls Washington. With the victory, it was the first time the Kernels had defeated the Warriors since March 18, 2011, during the semifinals of the state tournament.
You have to go back even further to find the last regular season win over SF Washington, coming on January 27, 2005 at the Corn Palace. Coincidentally, that’s the last season in which the Kernels won a state championship.
To find the last time Mitchell won at SF Washington, you have to go back to the late 90’s. It was February 6, 1997, when the Kernels picked up a 66-59 win behind 34 points from Mike Miller. Also a state championship winning season for the black and gold.
Mitchell improved to 15-1 overall on the season with the win on Tuesday. You have to go back to the 1986-87 season to find the last time the Kernels started a season 15-1. That year, Mitchell went 18-1 before finishing 21-3 with a third place finish at state.
Ultimately, this season will be remember for what the Kernels do in March and not in January or February.
Mitchell closes out the regular season with four games in seven days, starting Friday at Pierre (10-7). That’s quickly followed by a Saturday night matchup at No. 4 Sioux Falls Roosevelt (12-4). The final home game of the regular season is Tuesday, February 20 vs. Brandon Valley (12-3), before a trip of O’Gorman (10-8) at Friday, February 23.