Cardinals mark up 13 treys in LHC win

GRINNELL — If teams didn’t know by now after 14 games, they know after Friday’s game against Grinnell. Newton High’s Cardinals have a long range in shooting.

They put on a 3-point field goal shooting clinic Friday overcoming yet another slow start by draining a school-record 13 treys in a 74-53 win over host Grinnell.

Newton is second in Class 4A in 3-point goals made with 121. The Cardinals are 121-of-323 for 37.5 percent behind — and way behind — the 3-point arc. Leading Class 4A in 3-point goals made is Cedar Rapids Prairie (10-5) at 139-of-347 for 40 percent.

The Cardinals spotted the Tigers a 9-0 start then started raining down threes. Newton hit five 3-pointers in the first quarter on a 22-5 run to a 22-14 lead. Trey Vanderlaan, who is third in Class 4A with 46 3-pointers, drained one at the end of the first quarter.

Vanderlaan and Connor Gholson each had five 3-pointers in the game. Gholson, who is fifth among 4A 3-pointer shooters, had four in the first half and Vanderlaan hit three.

Garrett Sturtz added two treys and Morgan Maher had one 3-pointer.

“We got off to our customary slow start then we made a beautiful run. The execution of these guys was amazing,” Newton head coach Bill Liley said. “Our guys wanted to come out and play some great basketball, and they did that tonight.”

Newton shot 54 percent, 13-of-24, from 3-point range against the Tigers. The Cardinals shot well after the slow start, hitting at a 52-percent clip overall (26-of-50). Grinnell went 6-of-18 from 3-point range and was 21-of-45, 45.5 percent, overall.

The comeback started at the free-throw line with a make by Gholson then Sturtz had a field goals. With a three-pointer by Gholson it was 9-6 and he hit two free throws to make it 11-8. Vanderlaan’s trey tied, and Maher’s 3-pointer put the Cardinals on top to stay.

“I’m proud of our guys for bouncing back from the slow start. We had a timeout to get ourselves going a little bit. Once we did, Grinnell couldn’t keep up with us,” Liley said. “I’ve been waiting for us to shoot this well for awhile. We have to adjust to everything people are throwing at us defensively. Our guys are just attacking now and it’s a huge difference in how our offense flows.”

Newton maintained its lead through the second quarter even when Grinnell’s 6-foot-9 inch senior post player Cade McKnight had back-to-back baskets to open the period. A three-point play by Ethan Mitchell pulled the Tigers to within three, 24-21.

Newton answered with treys by Gholson and Sturtz. The same two knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to end the first half, giving Newton a 39-26 lead.

Newton didn’t have an answer inside against McKnight, who finished with a game-high 25 points. McKnight needed 17 points to reach 1,000 career points, and he got that on a basket in the third quarter. Newton led 48-35.

“I truly love the game of Cade McKnight. He is an outstanding high school player and I want nothing but the best for him as he moves on to play college basketball,” Liley said.

The Cardinals kept extending their lead in the third quarter. They were up 61-41 going into the fourth quarter. Newton outscored Grinnell 13-12 down the stretch.

“We continue to improve on defense. We hung with a much taller Grinnell team on the boards. We had 19 defensive boards,” Liley said. “This was a great team win. I was proud how our guys shared the ball on offense and found the open man.”

Gholson fired in 22 points while Vanderlaan and Sturtz each had 16 points. Vanderlaan pulled down seven rebounds, all off the defensive glass. Sturtz had six rebounds, six assists and three steals. Newton was 9-of-12 at the line.

Mitchell added 18 points for the Tigers. Grinnell was 5-of-11 at the free-throw line.

Newton has won three games in a row to push its overall mark to 10-4. The Cardinals are 6-4 in LHC play.

The Cardinals play at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Chariton in non-conference play. Newton hosts Oskaloosa in a 7:30 p.m. game Tuesday in Little Hawkeye Conference action.

Newton 22-17-22-13—74

Grinnell 14-12-15-12—53

Newton (FG/3-pt): Sturtz 5/2-0-3-16, Graham 1-0-0-2, Gholson 2/5-3-1-22, Vanderlaan 0/5-1-1-16, Ventling 2-5-4-9, Maher 2/1-0-4-7, Coley 1-0-3-2. TOTALS: 13/13-9-16-74.

Grinnell (FG/3-pt): Roudabush 1-0-4-2, Scherf 0-0-1-0, Mitchell 1/5-1-0-18, Allen 2/1-1-4-8, Popp 0-0-1-0, Hull 0-0-2-0, McKnight 11-3-4-25. TOTALS: 15/6-5-16-53.

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