Newton boys escape Tiger trap

GRINNELL — When Grinnell’s Cole McGriff fired in a 3-pointer with 8.6 seconds left on the game clock, the hosting Grinnell Tigers believed they had a chance against visiting Newton High’s Cardinals Friday.

The Cardinals put the basketball in the hands of senior point guard Garrett Sturtz, an 82-percent shooter from the free-throw line. Grinnell had to foul out of the timeout to extend the game.

A winless team is always dangerous, especially on its home court. The Cardinals found out in the Little Hawkeye Conference rivalry game.

Sturtz toed the free-throw line with 8.2 seconds left with his team up 51-49. He sank both free throws to seal the win for Newton. Grinnell’s Jake Hull scored a basket at the end for the final margin, but the Cardinals survived 53-51.

“It’s crazy, but we have the same record we had last season five games in,” Newton head coach Bill Liley said after the win Friday. “Our team this season is still a work in progress, and I’m happy to know they are willing to do the work to improve.”

It was a bounce-back game for the Cardinals after taking their first loss of the season a week earlier at home. Grinnell remained winless — 0-6 overall and 0-3 in LHC play.

Sturtz ripped the nets for 37 points in guiding the Cardinals to the road win. He went 12-of-15 from the line and hit three 3-pointers in the game.

Sophomore Kyle Long and senior Grant Garvis drilled crucial 3-pointers in the fourth quarter when the Tigers pulled to within one point — 37-36 and 40-39. Garvis had six points as Newton’s second-leading scorer in the contest.

Sturtz and sophomore Quintrail Coley had back-to-back baskets and Sturtz hit both ends of a one-and-one to put Newton up 49-41 with less than three minutes remaining the game. The Tigers didn’t back down with 3’s by Jayden Gibson and Cole McGriff to offset two free throws by Sturtz.

The Cardinals shot just 37 percent, 17-of-44, from the field, going 3-of-23 from 3-point range. Newton was 12-of-18 at the free-throw line.

Newton opened a 17-10 lead by the end of the first quarter on a trey by Garvis at the buzzer. The teams combined for four consecutive 3-pointers to begin the second period. Newton held on for a 29-25 halftime lead.

Scoring slowed a bit coming out of the break as the Cardinals tossed in six points, all by Sturtz, and the Tigers got seven points from Hull. Newton headed into the fourth quarter leading 35-32.

Ethan Mitchell, who fouled out late in the fourth quarter, led the Tigers with 15 points. Hull had 14 points and nine rebounds. Grinnell shot 43 percent, 18-of-42, from the field and went 7-of-13 at the line.

The Tigers held a 32-24 rebounding edge over the Cardinals. Sturtz, Garvis and Coley each pulled down six rebounds. Sturtz had three assists and one steal. Garvis and Aaron Bartels had two assists apiece.

“We have a huge game against Oskaloosa on Tuesday,” Liley said. “We’ll be ready for the challenge.”

Newton improved to 2-1 — the loss to a ranked Dallas-Center Grimes team — in LHC play and 4-1 overall. The Cardinals host Class 3A No. 5 Oskaloosa (7-0, 3-0) at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Oskaloosa upended DCG 56-49 on Friday night.

Newton won the junior varsity game at Grinnell, 48-39. Logan Schilling scored 26 points for Newton.

Newton 17-12-6-18—53

Grinnell 10-15-7-19—51

Newton (FG/3-pt): Sturtz 8/3-12-2-37, Satterfield 0/1-0-0-3, Long 0/1-0-1-3, Garvis 0/2-0-2-6, Bartels 0-0-2-0, Coley 2-0-3-4. TOTALS: 10/7-12-10-53.

Grinnell (FG/3-pt): McGriff 0/2-0-3-6, Gibson 0/3-0-1-9, Ivanov 0-0-1-0, Mitchell 3/2-3-5-15, Hull 5/1-1-1-14, Popp 2-3-3-7, Coffman 0-0-4-0. TOTALS: 10/8-7-18-51.

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