Newton High senior Trey Vanderlaan lived up to his first name, hitting six 3-pointers in the Cardinals’ runaway non-conference win on Tuesday. Vanderlaan buried five of his treys in the first half of the 75-35 victory over visiting Nevada.
“It was fun to see Trey get going again,” Newton head coach Bill Liley said. “That team wasn’t as bad as the score indicates. We just played well, and it was the best game we’ve played so far this season.”
The Cardinals shot 53 percent, 28-of-53, from the field overall. They ramped things up late in the first quarter from the field, shooting 64 percent by the end of the first half.
Defensively, Newton gave up just five field goals — three 2-pointers and two 3-pointers — in the first half. The Cubs finished the game, 14-of-36, from the field for 39 percent.
The Cubs were up 3-1 early in the first quarter, but by the close of the first quarter, the Cardinals were in control, 22-10. Newton went on a 19-6 run in the second period on its way to a commanding 41-16 halftime advantage.
“We had great energy from our team and great ball movement,” Liley said. “Sharing the ball is a big part of who we are as a team. Passing is a major strength for this group. Their unselfishness really showed tonight.”
Newton had 19 assists and three players in double-digit scoring. Vanderlaan ended up with 18 points and three assists while senior Connor Gholson hit for 19 points. Junior Garrett Sturtz had 16 points and five assists. Senior Morgan Maher dished out four assists.
Liley said Nevada pressed the Cardinals, but “we don’t give into another team’s press.” The Cardinals attacked and got some baskets in transition. Newton had only three turnovers in the game.
There was no letdown coming out of halftime for the Cardinals. They outscored the Cubs 18-8 to push their lead to 59-24. In the final period, Newton held a 16-11 scoring edge.
Another edge the Cardinals had came on the backboards as they outrebounded yet another taller team, 25-18. Sturtz led the charge on the boards with nine rebounds. Newton had 12 steals with Gholson and Vanderlaan having three apiece.
“Nevada’s starting front line went 6-6, 6-5, 6-5. One of our objectives each game is win the rebounding battle. I’m proud of our guys being able to do that against three bigger teams so far this season,” Liley said.
Nevada was led by Trent Stahl with 10 points. The Cubs (1-2) had 18 turnovers in the game. They were 5-of-7 from the free-throw line while the Cardinals sank 8-of-10 foul shots.
Nevada won the junior varsity game, 55-46. Kyle Long was Newton’s leading scorer with 19 points. Quintrail Coley had seven rebounds and McKenna Davis pulled down six rebounds.
In the freshman game, Nevada netted a 47-44 win over Newton. Cody Hamilton scored 12 points and William Cheng tossed in 10 points for Newton.
Newton (3-0) travels to Marshalltown on Thursday for a non-conference girls-boys doubleheader. The girls’ game tips at 6 p.m. followed by the boys’ game.
The Cardinal teams are on the road again on Friday for a Little Hawkeye Conference doubleheader at Dallas Center-Grimes. The DCG girls are ranked 14th in Class 4A and the DCG boys are 10th in Class 3A. The girls’ game is at 6 p.m. followed by the boys at 7:30 p.m.
Nevada 10-6-8-11—35
Newton 22-19-18-16—75
Newton (FG/3-pt): Sturtz 6/1-1-1-16, Graham 1-0-2-2, Gulling 1/2-0-2-8, Gholson 3/2-7-0-19, Vanderlaan 0/6-0-0-18, Ventling 3-0-2-6, Maher 3-0-2-6. TOTALS: 17/11-8-9-75.
Nevada (FG/3-pt): Stahl 1/2-2-0-10, Henry 1-0-0-2, Higgins 2-0-1-4, Matuska 1-0-2-2, Merfeld 1-0-1-2, Strottman 1-0-2-2, Wilkerson 1-0-2-2, Sanders 1-2-1-4, Chitty 3-1-1-7. TOTALS: 12/2-5-10-35.
Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
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or jsheets@newtondailynews.com