March 28, 2024

Cardinals are top seed in Class 3A District 12

Newton High’s Cardinal boys were awarded the top seed in Class 3A District 12 Tuesday morning. When the Iowa High School Athletic Association announced district basketball pairings Monday, Newton was seeded second and Grinnell No. 1.

“We found an error in our seeding process. Newton is the No. 1 seed and will host the first round of games,” IHSAA’s Brett Nanninga told the Newton Daily News Tuesday morning.

The Cardinals split in Little Hawkeye Conference action with Grinnell, winning 64-45 at Grinnell Jan. 5 and losing 82-61 at home Feb. 4. Only the Jan. 5 game counted in the seedings, which are based on the first 15 games of the season.

On Feb. 22, the Cardinals host a District 12 doubleheader. Grinnell (11-6) drew Oskaloosa (6-10) in the 6:30 p.m. game. Newton (11-6) plays South Tama (5-14) at 8 p.m.

The winners play at 7 p.m. Feb. 25 at a yet-to-be-determined site.

Newton has beaten Oskaloosa twice this season in Little Hawkeye Conference play. They haven’t faced South Tama this season.

The District 12 champion and 3A District 11 champion play for the Class 3A Substate 6 championship on Feb. 29. There are three 11-6 teams in the substate — two in District 12 — and 3A seventh-ranked Chartion (18-1) as the top seed in District 11.

In District 11, Chariton is the team to beat as the top seed, and it hosts a district doubleheader Feb. 22. Chariton plays Clarke (3-15) at 8 p.m. Knoxville (11-6) faces Centerville (9-8) at 6:30 p.m. The winners play at 7 p.m. Feb. 25 at a yet-to-be-determined site.

The Cardinals lost a 74-70 decision at home against Chariton Feb. 1. They defeated Knoxville, 71-60, on Jan. 2. They have not placed Clarke or Centerville this year.

“Losing by 21 points to Grinnell, may be good for our team to know what we’re trying to avoid,” Newton head coach Bill Liley said last week. “First, it was Chariton and then Grinnell — two teams our team is going to have to beat if it wants to move forward in the playoffs. We know how we measure up against them.”

Substate champions advance to the IHSAA 3A state tournament March 8-12 at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com