Marcus Traxler: Hinker picks up where left off in state tourney for Kernels in quarterfinal win

Mar. 20—RAPID CITY — Gavin Hinker picked up right where he left off the last time he was on the state tournament stage.

For the Mitchell Kernels on Thursday afternoon, it was as timely as ever.

The Kernel senior scored the game-winning basket a year ago to allow Mitchell to win its first state basketball championship in nearly 20 years. And he had six key points in the final 3 minutes as part of a game-high 18 points on Thursday in the Class AA state quarterfinals to knock out rival Huron 50-41 at Summit Arena.

It was important offensive execution in a game that didn't have much of it, with Mitchell and Huron both trading unsightly possessions in a first half that had 31 combined points.

Coach Ryker Kreutzfeldt told the Kernels after the game it might have been the most physical high school basketball game he's ever witnessed. And for the 6-foot-5 Hinker, that sounded pretty good.

"And to me, I don't mind it," he said after the game. "We just took it and used it against them."

Of the eight teams in the state tournament, only a few have true talented centers like Hinker. And no team has many tall players as Huron does, with four players at 6-foot-4 or taller and three at 6-foot-5 or better. The battle was won decisively by Hinker.

The success on Thursday was not without some hiccups. Hinker was 2-for-10 in the first half, so the halftime conversation between the coaching staff and the senior was that he could make the plays inside if he hung tough. He followed through by scoring 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting in the second half.

"It just felt like he was trying to do things really quickly," Kreutzfeldt said. "We told him, 'Just catch it, take your time and make your move. And you have to shoot to score, not shoot to get fouled.' He did that and really stepped up when we needed him."

Kreutzfeldt said the team watched the Jan. 14 loss to Huron the night before the game and showed Hinker on the film that he has opportunities to be the aggressor.

"I think we just slowed down when we had the ball and we were able to get into our plays more smoothly," Hinker said of Thursday's game. "Anytime I would get the ball in the post, I would try to slow down and it just gave me time to work and get my shot off easier."

"He's a tough kid and strong," Kernel senior guard Markus Talley said of Hinker. "I think he's unstoppable one-on-one in the post, so if there's no help, he's going to score almost every time.

Hinker and Talley were Mitchell's two leading seniors against the Tigers, and Kreutzfeldt said there were some senior moments that showed through to carry the Kernels to the state semifinals and a date against No. 1-seed Sioux Falls Lincoln.

"It's hard to credit anything else other than there were some senior moments," Kreutzfeldt said. "Markus Talley's championship hopes were not being ended tonight. Gavin Hinker was not letting that happen tonight. They asserted themselves, they were confident and they weren't afraid of the moment."

The second half of the season has brought out more of Hinker's best play. He's scored in double figures in nine of the last 11 games and Thursday was his second-highest scoring output of the season. His scoring turnaround this season started with the Kernels' 69-58 win over Lincoln on Jan. 31, when he scored 16 points.

As for last season's state tournament and picking up with another big game to start this edition, Hinker said he loves the big stage. He said he's ready for one more state tournament contest on Friday night.

"I like the environment and all of the people and all of the excitement, I think I really thrive in that," Hinker said. "This is the best time of the year, for sure. I think it just fuels me to play harder."

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Marcus Traxler: Hinker picks up where left off in state tourney for Kernels in quarterfinal win

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