March 28, 2024

Newton girls win, boys lose; area basketball roundup

Area high school basketball teams hit the hardwoods in force for the first time since the Christmans break. The winter weather shortened the week's action, but Friday night the boys and girls teams from Newton, Lynnville-Sully, Colfax-Mingo, Collins-Maxwell/Baxter and Prairie City-Monroe played.

Here is a roundup of Friday night's action:

Newton girls 37, Oskaloosa girls 26

OSKALOOSA — On a not-so-great night, Newton High’s Cardinal girls worked through it all to claim a 37-26 win on the road over Oskaloosa’s Indians Friday night. The win broke a four-game losing streak for the Cardinals.

The victory also evened the Newton girls’ Little Hawkeye Conference mark at 2-2. They are 2-8 overall.

“It definitely wasn’t our best basketball, but we stayed collected, together and pushed through the muck of the game,” said Brandon Sharp, Newton head coach.

After struggling to put up 19 points over the first three quarters of play, the Cardinals sprung for 18 points in the final eight minutes to pull away. The Indians also had 19 points after three quarters, but only scored seven points in the fourth.

Hannah Rhoads fired in 12 points for Newton followed by Alex Hutchinson with nine points and Sydney Jenkins had eight. The Cardinals were 18-of-28 at the free-throw line.

Alexis Westercamp scored 12 points for Oskaloosa.

Newton hosts Class 4A No. 15 Pella Tuesday in Little Hawkeye action.

Oskaloosa boys 48, Newton boys 46

OSKALOOSA — Jack Moore drained a jumper from the top of the key to beat the final buzzer, giving host Oskaloosa’s Indians a 48-46 win over visiting Newton High’s Cardinal boys Friday night.

Newton’s Nick Easley hit the front end of a one-and-one with 3.5 seconds left in the game to forge a 46-all tie. Easley finished with five points for the Cardinals. Tyler Wood paced the Cardinals with 13 points and Drew Stout had 10 as both Wood and Stout hit two 3-pointers on the night.

It was a back-and-forth Little Hawkeye Conference contest throughout the game. The Indians led 14-9 at the end of the first quarter and the Cardinals were up 27-25 at halftime. Oskaloosa outscored Newton 13-5 in the third to take a 38-32 lead into the fourth period.

Moore ended up with 20 points for Oskaloosa (4-4, 1-3 LHC).

Newton, which is 1-3 in LHC play and 5-4 overall, hosts Pella in conference action Tuesday.

Lynnville-Sully teams sweep past Keota

KEOTA — Winning on the road is never easy, but the Lynnville-Sully Hawk basketball teams got the job done Friday night against the Keota Eagles in South Iowa Cedar League play.

Lynnville-Sully’s girls, undefeated and ranked No. 9 in Class 1A, had a cold night shooting (29 percent) from the field. The Hawks girls were able to get to the free-throw line, cashing in on 20-of-28, to close out a 35-27 win over the Eagle girls.

Lysandra James led the Hawk girls with 12 points and five rebounds. Madison Rasmusson had eight points, eight rebounds and two assists. Marissa Vos made two steals and Shelby Davis had two assists.

Keota got 16 points and 13 rebounds from Madison Sheetz. The Eagle girls’ shot just 20 percent, 9-of-45, from the field.

Lynnville-Sully’s boys ripped the nets for eight 3-pointers on their way to a 60-50 win over the Eagles. The Hawks were up 31-24 at halftime and maintained their edge in the third quarter, outscoring Keota 14-10.

Tyler Van Zante scored 12 points, all on 3-pointers, and Jake Brand had nine points, all on threes, for Lynnville-Sully. Ben Trettin also had 12 points. Kyle Van Dyke scored 11 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked two shots.

Isaiah Hahn tossed in 13 points and Nate Owen had 10 points for Keota.

Lynnville-Sully’s teams host Tri-County’s basketball squads Tuesday.

North Polk boys 61, Colfax-Mingo boys 47

COLFAX — In a game that was much closer than the final score indicated, the Tigerhawks remained winless on the season despite a career-high 23 points from junior Jared Myers.
Junior Colin Lourens also had 10 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out.

Colfax-Mingo trailed by two after one quarter, took a 24-23 lead into halftime and remained on top, 38-36, heading into the fourth.

However, North Polk (4-5, 3-4) outscored the Tigerhawks (0-7, 0-7) 25-9 in the final quarter to win going away. The game was tied at 40-all with 5 minutes to play and it was a two-point game with 3 to go.

"I think we lost our composure offensively in the fourth quarter," Colfax-Mingo coach John Borts said. "We didn't pass the ball as efficiently as we needed to and our shot selection wasn't as good as it needed to be. We got hurried in the last half of the fourth quarter and the game kind of got away from us a little bit. It doesn't reflect at all the competitiveness of the game."

North Polk's Anthony Capaldo hit 9-of-10 free throws in the final 2 minutes to extend the Comets' advantage. Capaldo finished with 12 in the game, while Hunter Dark scored 20 and Brett Haun put in 19.

There were 40 fouls called in the game and 25 of them went against the host Tigerhawks. Myers was called for a personal foul and two technicals on the same play with 33 seconds to go in the contest. He was ejected from the game and will miss Colfax-Mingo's next game against Nevada on Tuesday night.

"There were a number of situations that happened during the fourth quarter that I probably don't agree with the outcome of, but we don't have any control over that," Borts said. "If we execute a little better in the fourth quarter, then maybe some of the things we can't control don't matter as much."

North Polk girls 53, Colfax-Mingo girls 7

COLFAX — North Polk held the Tigerhawks scoreless in the first and third quarters and won easily.

The Comets led 18-0 after one and had a 36-4 lead at the break. North Polk (5-5, 3-5) outscored Colfax-Mingo 12-0 in the third and 5-3 in the fourth.

"We just lack that toughness that you need to be able to play in this league," Colfax-Mingo coach Michelle Grant said. "We aren't tough with the ball. We don't make tough passes. That's where we are at."

Dakota Hostetter scored all three of her points in the fourth to lead the Tigehawks. Reagan Nichol and Ivy Moore also put in buckets in the second to complete Colfax-Mingo's scoring.

The seven points scored is a season-low output for the Tigerhawks, but the 53 points allowed was the second fewest surrendered this season.

The Comets came into the game hitting 25 percent from 3-point range but buried eight against Colfax-Mingo. Riley Murphy connected on three of those and finished with 11 points. Macy Gill also scored 11, while Madelyn Hill and Rachel Scott scored eight and seven, respectively.

The Tigerhawks attempted just one shot in the first quarter. They came in averaging around 30 turnovers per game and were forced into 33 on Friday.

"We just need to take more shots. I don't care if you miss it. That's better than a turnover," Grant said.

The Tigerhawks travel to Class 3A No. 7 Nevada on Tuesday.

PCM boys 53, Gilbert boys 52

GILBERT — Trey Lindsay buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Class 3A No. 6 Gilbert its first loss of the season.

Lindsay finished with a team-high 25 points and added five steals and three rebounds. He buried four 3-pointers in the game.

"He is having a nice season," said PCM coach Fred Lorensen. "He's so much more athletic than he was a year ago. And that last shot was really something. It was fun."

Lorensen said the final play was designed to go inside to the team's leading scorer, Logan Gilman, but Gilbert deflected the entry pass.

The ball eventually got to Lindsay, who dribbled behind the 3-point line. A ball fake got two charging defenders to jump passed him and he knocked down the game-winner from five-feet behind the line.

The Mustangs have now won six straight games and are now tied atop the Heart of Iowa Athletic Conference standings at 6-1. Gilbert and Roland-Story also have just one loss in conference play.

"This is a huge win," Lorensen said. "If we want to have any chance to win the conference, we had to have it."

Gilman finished with nine points and a team-high five boards, while Ricky Reeve and Luke Greiner each scored six.

PCM heads back on the road Tuesday to face Greene County.

Gilbert girls 44, PCM girls 39

GILBERT — The Mustangs couldn't hold a 22-13 halftime advantage as the Tigers handed PCM its first conference loss after outscoring their visitors 31-17 in the second half.

Paige Hoiberg led Gilbert with 16 points, six rebounds and five steals. No other Gilbert player scored in double-figures and the Tigers hit 15-of-37 from the floor.

PCM came into the game with a 7-0 record in Heart of Iowa Athletic Conference play, but the Mustangs dropped to 7-3 overall after the loss. PCM and 3A No. 7 Nevada are now tied atop the league standings with one conference loss each.

PCM plays at Greene County on Tuesday night.

Saydel girls 54, CMB girls 36

DES MOINES — A 17-3 advantage in the third quarter was enough for Class 3A No. 14 Saydel to claim a win Friday night over Collins-Maxwell/Baxter.

The Raiders got 11 points and nine rebounds from freshman Brianda Bane and 10 points from Carter Larson, but CMB (2-9, 2-6) couldn't hold the 10-7 it had after one quarter.

Saydel (8-2, 6-2)outscored the Raiders 19-11 in the second quarter to give the Eagles a 26-21 lead at halftime. The 17-3 surplus in the third extended the margin to 19 after three quarters. The Eagles have won four of their last five games, while the loss snapped CMB's two-game win streak.

CMB stays on the road Tuesay night when it heads to Gilbert.

Saydel boys 61, CMB boys 47

DES MOINES — The Eagles hit 7-of-14 from 3-point range and led wire-to-wire against the Raiders, who made just 2-of-21 from long range in the game.

The Eagles (3-5, 2-5) led 16-10 after one, 26-22 at halftime and 40-33 heading into the fourth quarter. Zach McBride hit two 3-pointers and scored a team-high 15 points to lead Saydel, while Jacob Philipsen was 3-of-4 from long range and finished with nine points. Saydel has won three of its last four games.

Bryce Kemp and Seth Baalke combined to score 37 of CMB's 47 points, but it wasn't enough as the loss snapped the Raiders' three-game winning streak.

Kemp poured in 20 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and had four steals to lead CMB (3-6, 2-5) in the loss, while Baalke added 17 points, five rebounds and four steals. The rest of the team combined to shoot 4-of-31 from the floor.

CMB travels to Gilbert on Tuesday night.