Cardinal freshmen take out Tigers; JV loses

NEWTON — Newton’s freshman boys basketball team took on Grinnell on Thursday night. The ninth grade Cardinals came away with a 17-point victory over the previously unbeaten Grinnell freshmen boys basketball team, 51-34.

Newton went on a 9-0 run to start the game. Trey Vanderlaan made four 3-point shots in the first half.

Josh Ventling posted 18 points, followed by Vanderlaan with 17.

The Cardinals are now 6-3 on the season and face Oskaloosa on the road Monday night.

Newton’s JV was not as fortunate. A shot taken at the gun came up just short, bouncing off the rim, giving the Cards a 39-36 loss. The Cardinals made 4-of-20 in the paint in the second half and shot 25 percent from the field for the game.

Devin Shores led the Cardinal JV team with 12 points, followed by Jarom Williams with seven. Jwan Roush garnered eight rebounds to go along with four steals and two assists.

The Tigers had eight players score with Caleb Weaver leading the way with nine points.

Newton trailed 19-18 at the half and were behind by eight points with just three minutes to play before a comeback in the waning moments of the game.

The Newton JV team now falls to 4-5 and has Oskaloosa up next.