MAGNET COVE -- Mitchell Herron was 5-for-12 from behind the arc to lead Cutter Morning Star to a 57-33 win over Mountain Pine in the first round of the Battle at the Cove tournament at Panther Arena.
"He shot it well, and what Mitchell did tonight is what I've been talking to him about," said Eagles head coach Matt Carter. "He plays really hard, but he needs to slow down sometimes and be in better control. And we talked about that a lot. I thought tonight, he really made a conscious effort to be in control and because of that he had success. So hopefully he can build off that."
Mountain Pine's Trey Zander and Herron traded 3-pointers to open the game, but the Eagles hit a 13-3 run to take a 16-6 lead into the second quarter. The Red Devils struggled early in the second period as well with the Eagles opening the frame on a 10-3 run before securing a 30-12 halftime lead.
"It's kind of hard when you expect to start the season with people, and then you start the season and then we've got two guys that were our starters and they're not with us," said Mountain Pine head coach LaMont Page. "So that's the hard part. We're still trying to find ways to fill in for those guys. And that's pretty much the gist of it."
The Eagles pushed out to a 44-23 lead after three quarters, but while the Red Devils pulled within 19 early in the final frame, they could not get any closer.
"We're inexperienced," Page said. "We have seniors, but we have seniors that have never started. They were good coming off the bench and good role players, but as far as starting and playing 20, 25 minutes a game, it's a different story."
Ryan Brown, who was the only other Eagle in double-digit scoring with 13 points and 3 steals, was a big presence for the team defensively.
"He has worked hard on the defensive end of the floor, and he can play that end," Carter said. "And I'm telling him he's got to play that end. For us to be a complete team, he's got to play at both ends. We know what he can do on offense. The good thing about tonight was he struggled on offense, and he made up for it with his defense and had some good assists in there. You're going to have those nights, but he's not going to have a night like that every night."
Herron led the Eagles with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, and Sam Moore added three of the team's 14 steals. Collin Smith led the Red Devils with 8 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals, and Kason Porter led the team with 5 assists.
The Red Devils will face Bismarck at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday in the losers bracket, and the Eagles will face Magnet Cove or Centerpoint Saturday at 8 p.m.
Eagles-Red Devils, Box
CUTTER MORNING STAR (57)
Ryan Brown 6-18 0-0 13, Mitchell Herron 5-12 0-0 15, Bryce Bates 3-6 0-0 8, Sam Moore 2-6 1-2 6, Chris Kennedy 2-8 0-1 4, Tyrone Harris 2-3 0-0 5, Keshawn Blevins 2-3 0-2 4, Gabe Wilmath 1-1 0-0 2, Clay Pratt 0-1 0-0 0, Tyler Mace 0-1 0-0 0, Austin Yandell 0-0 0-1 0.
MOUNTAIN PINE (33)
Kason Porter 3-6 0-0 6, Seantie Wheeler 1-7 1-2 3, Collin Smith 2-10 4-8 8, Josiah Walpole 1-3 0-2 3, Trey Zander 2-10 0-0 6, Rayden Dexter 3-9 0-1 7, Christian Sheridan 0-2 0-1 0.
CMS 16 14 14 13 57
MP 6 6 11 10 33
3-Point Goals-CMS 10-31 (Herron 5-12, Bates 2-5, Brown 1-7, Moore 1-3, Harris 1-2, Kennedy 0-1, Pratt 0-1), MP 4-19 (Zander 2-10, Dexter 1-5, Walpole 1-1, Wheeler 0-3). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-CMS 32 (Herron 8), MP 30 (Smith 8). Assists-CMS 16 (Herron 5), MP 6 (Porter 5). Total Fouls-CMS 14, MP 10.
Sports on 12/06/2019