Cardinal boys deck Marshalltown

Execution was key in Thursday night’s home opener for Newton High’s Cardinal boys against Marshalltown’s Bobcats.

Each team got what it needed from is star player — Newton senior Garrett Sturtz score 31 points, had four rebounds and five assists and Marshalltown senior 6-foot-7- inch post player Luke Appel dominated inside for 33 points. Newton had two other players score in double figures as the Cardinals had a 73-64 win at home.

Junior Aaron Bartels ripped the cords for six 3-pointers and went 4-of-4 at the free-throw line on his way to 22 points. Sophomore Kyle Long drilled four 3’s for 12 points and had one steal.

“Aaron and Kyle hit some key shots tonight. Aaron played really well tonight, and hit some tough shots to put us over the hump,” Sturtz said.

Sturtz needed 22 points to take over the No. 2 spot on Newton’s career scoring list, passing Tyler Wood’s 1,076 points. He had 11 points at halftime and was tied with Wood with 2:09 left in the third quarter.

Sturtz sank two free throws with 4:37 left in the game to take over the No. 2 spot. He said it’s exciting, but he wanted to talk about the team getting the win and being 3-0.

Newton and Marshalltown combined for seven 3-pointers in the first quarter. Bartels had three of those and Long hit one. Newton was 11-of-15 from long range in the game, 73 percent. Marshalltown was 6-of-22 from 3-point range and three of those came in the first period from Josh Melde.

A putback by Appel at the buzzer made it a 16-15 Newton lead after one quarter of play. Long’s trey kicked off a 10-2 run by Newton to begin the second quarter. Quintrail Coley and Sturtz had back-to-back baskets and Bartels hit a 3-pointer to make it 26-17 at the 4:33 mark.

Sturtz had two free throws to put Newton up 31-22. Appel scored on two cutbacks to make it 31-26 at the break.

“We stressed this week about coming out with a quick start, which we did then we jumped out again in the third quarter,” Sturtz said.

Sturtz said at halftime, the Cardinals talked about rebounding better in the second half and not allowing the Bobcats as many second-chance points and execute down the stretch.

“Marshalltown is a much improved team from last year,” Newton head coach Bill Liley said. “They shoot the ball well, they move the ball at a very high level and have an all-star player in Luke Appel. I’m proud we were able to out-execute them tonight, which we can live with this early in the season with such a young group.”

The Bobcats outscored the Cardinals 7-2 to forge a 33-33 tie with 6:04 left in the third quarter. Bartels, Sturtz and Long each drained a 3-pointer and Sturtz had a three-point play to push Newton back to a 45-37 lead. It was 50-41 heading into the fourth period.

Marshalltown claimed back to within three points, 55-52, with four minutes remaining in the game.It was 59-56 when Bartels and Coley went to the free-throw line in bonus situations. They both delivered two points.

“I’m very proud of Quintrail this week he made the free throws at the end. They were purposely fouling him, but he showed them he’s going to knock them down,” Sturtz said.

In the final two minutes. Coley and Bartels went 4-of-4 at the line, and so did Sturtz. Coley had eight points, four rebounds, one steal and three assists. He also took two charges on the defensive end for Newton.

“For Quintrail to hit those down the stretch says a lot about him. He is getting better every day for us,” Liley said of the 6-foot-5-inch sophomore post player. “Kyle and Aaron shot the ball well tonight. If they continue to play like that, we’ll be tough to beat.”

Newton finished shooting 61 percent, 22-of-36, from the field. The Cardinals we’re 18-of-19 from the charity stripe. Sturtz was 10-of-11 on free throw attempts. Senior Grant Garvis dished out four assists and blocked one shot.

“I came out really confident tonight. The first shot went in and my confidence level rose,” Bartels said about his night from outside the 3-point arc. “Coach just told me to keep shooting. As a team, we’re young but we’re getting there.”

Melde had 18 points to go along with Appel’s 33 points. The Bobcats (1-2) shot 45 percent, 24-of-53, from the field for the game. They sank 10-of-13 free throw attempts.

In the junior varsity game, Newton’s Logan Schillng netted seven 3-pointers as he led his team to a 51-40 win with 34 points.

Newton (3-0) hosts Dallas Center-Grimes (3-1) in Little Hawkeye Conference play Friday night. It’s a 7:30 p.m. tipoff as the Cardinals are 1-0 in conference play and the Mustangs are 0-1.

Marshalltown 15-11-15-23—64

Newton 16-15-19-23—73

Newton (FG/3-pt):Sturtz 9/1-10-1-31, Davis 0-0-2-0, Long 0/4-0-3-12, Garvis 0-0-3-0, Bartels 0/6-4-0-22, Coley 2-4-4-8. TOTALS: 11/11-18-13-73.

Marshalltown (FG/3-pt): Beaty 0/1-0-0-3, Melde 3/3-3-3-18, O’Hare 0-2-3-2, Smith 0/2-2-3-8, Iriwn 0-0-3-0, Appel 15-3-4-33. TOTALS: 18/6-10-16-64.

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