INDIANAPOLIS — Columbus North senior Ethan Mitchell came up big for the Bull Dogs in their season opener at Heritage Christian on Tuesday night.
North was without senior forward Alex King because of a hip flexor injury, but Mitchell’s 22 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks lead the Bull Dogs to a 59-49 victory.
“Ethan had a great offseason,” North coach Paul Ferguson said. “He keeps getting better and better. He got great post position, we fed him the ball and he went to work.”
Both teams opened the quarter shooting well. Heritage Christian’s Andrew Williams had the hot hand early with eight first quarter points to keep the Eagles within one.
Williams got into foul trouble early in the second half and had to sit out for much of the third quarter. He ended the game with 12 points and four steals before fouling out with 46 seconds left.
Zack Meus did all he could to keep Heritage Christian in it, scoring 20 points of his own, but North pulled away in the fourth. The Bull Dogs had only a two-point lead going into the final quarter but held the Eagles to just six points to close the game.
Ferguson said the most exciting part was how his team ended the game because that is something North has struggled with in the past. The Bull Dogs shot well from the free-throw line and ended the game with five total blocks.
“Coach told us to lock down, and we had a good defensive plan and we executed,” Mitchell said.
North will visit Hauser on Saturday.
“Next game we’re going to shoot a little better outside,” Mitchell said. “And we’ll have a couple of more healthy players hopefully in the next couple of weeks.”
