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Basketball action was hot in gymnasiums on a cold Friday night. Newton, Lynnville-Sully, Prairie City-Monroe teams came away with splits of doubleheaders. Colfax-Mingo teams swept a road twin bill. Baxter teams were idle
Newton boys 66, Pella Christian boys 61
PELLA — No 3-point field goals in the first half for Newton High’s Cardinals and they trailed host Pella Christian 38-23 at halftime on Friday night.
Sophomore Kyle Long and junior Aaron Bartels found their long-distance shooting to help the Cardinals stage a come-from-behind win, 66-61, over the Eagles in Little Hawkeye Conference play. Newton fell behind Pella Christian by 18 points in the third period.
Long hit two treys and Bartels downed one to get the Cardinals to within 15, 49-34 with less than four minutes left in the third quarter. Then senior point guard Garrett Sturtz took over, scoring eight straight to make it 51-42 late in the period.
Newton was done 53-42 heading into the final eight minutes. The Cardinals outscored the Eagles 24-8 with Sturtz firing in 21 of those points. Sturtz, who is second in scoring in the state, finished with 40 points.
“We picked up the tempo, hit shots and played defense in the fourth quarter. A big factor in the comeback was our ability to take charges on the defensive end. Grant Garvis took two or three charging fouls in the fourth quarter,” Sturtz said after the game.
“I give my teammates a lot of credit for playing with heart. Having Grayson Graham back is big for us. When I wasn’t hitting shots early, we had others step up. Q (Quintrail Coley) kept us in the game in the first quarter.”
Sophomore post player Quintrail Coley scored eight of his 10 points in the first quarter while Sturtz was held to two points by the Eagles. In his first game of the season, senior guard Grayson Graham connected on the first shot he took to make it 13-13.
Pella led 15-13 at the end of the first quarter and pushed out to a 26-14 lead in the second quarter. With Sturtz with 10 points in the first half, Newton was down 38-23 going into the break.
Sturtz got a couple of big rebounds early in the fourth quarter and tallied nine points to pull Newton to within two points, 53-51. Pella Christian’s Treven Cadwell fouled out of the game on an offensive charging foul.
Bartels drained a 3-pointer to give Newton its first lead of the game, 54-53. The Cardinals didn’t relinquish it as Sturtz tossed in the final 12 points, hitting 10-of-10 from the free-throw line.
Jayden Huisman led Pella Christian with 14 points. Jack Vermeer and Alex Huisman each had 10 points for the Eagles.
Newton ends the first round of LHC action at 4-3. The Cardinals (8-3) have a week off until Indianola comes to Newton to open the second half of conference action.
Pella Christian girls 60, Newton girls 38
PELLA — Two free throws by senior Addy Blom tied the game at 16-16 late in the first quarter. Unfortunately for Newton High’s girls, the Cardinals failed to score again for 13 minutes of game time in Friday’s Little Hawkeye Conference game.
During the span from late in the first quarter to the almost halfway through the third quarter, host Pella Christian had a 26-0 run on its way to a 60-38 win. Newton did not score in the second quarter as the Eagles rolled to a 38-16 halftime advantage.
A fastbreak basket by senior Marcelina Marvelli broke the scoring drought for Newton — 44-18. The Cardinals went on a 16-4 run to make it 48-32 at the end of the third quarter. They went into a the deep freeze again with just six points in the fourth quarter.
Marvelli led the Cardinals with 15 points. She hit three 3-pointers. Newton was 4-of-12 from 3-point range. The Cardinals shot 36.5 percent, 15-of-41, from the field overall. They had 19 turnovers.
Marvelli and senior Ali Bestell each cleared five rebounds. Senior Randi Walters had three assists.
Pella Christian was led by Morgan Fopma with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Isabella Baugh added 13 points.
Newton finished the first round of Little Hawkeye Conference action at 1-6. The Cardinals step out of LHC play for their next two games.
Newton (3-9) hosts Class 3A No. 6 Nevada at 1 p.m. Saturday at Newton High School. It travels to Class 4A No. 6 Boone on Tuesday.
Class 1A No. 15 Lynnville-Sully girls 57,
Grand View Christian 32
SULLY — Freshman post player Krystal Van Dyke had a double-double to help Lynnville-Sully’s girls win in non-conference play Friday night at home. The newly Class 1A 15th-ranked Hawk girls pushed past visiting Grand View Christina, 57-32.
Van Dyke scored 15 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and made four steals for the Hawks. Senior Mariah Vos scored 13 points and had eight rebounds while junior Carson Fisk tallied 12 points, cleared eight rebounds and had four steals.
Lynnville-Sully led 16-8 after one quarter and was up 33-13 by halftime. The Hawks scored 26 points off 24 GVC turnovers. They had a 56-27 rebounding edge.
Emily Hurley had 12 points for Grand View Christian.
Lynnville-Sully (10-3) travels to Class 1A No. 9 Montezuma in South Iowa Cedar League play on Tuesday.
Class 1A No. 2 Grand View Christian boys 75,
1A No. 6 Lynnville-Sully boys 62
SULLY — Grand View Christian’s Thunder broke out of a 37-37 halftime deadlock on a 31-17 run in the third quarter Friday night against host Lynnville-Sully. The 1A sixth-ranked Hawks weren’t able to recover as the visiting 1A second-ranked Thunder posted a 75-62 victory.
It was only the second loss of the season by the Hawks (10-2) as the Thunder, which is the defending 1A state champion, improved to 12-0.
GVC led 15-13 after one quarter. Lynnville-Sully forged a tie at halftime on a 24-22 second quarter scoring edge. The Thunder powered to the lead in the third quarter.
Lynnville-Sully shot 46 percent, 22-of-48, from the field and went 13-of-26 at the free-throw line. Grand View Christian went 27-of-54, 50 percent, from the field and cashed in on 17-of-28 foul shots.
Senior Jesse Van Wyk scored 18 points. pulled down 13 rebounds and dished out six assists for the Hawks. Senior Tanner Foster added 16 points. Junior Rylan James had seven of the team’s 41 rebounds. The Hawks had 20 turnovers.
Grand View Christian got 20 points apiece from Mach Nyaw and Grant DeMeulenaere. Arturo Montes had 12 points.
Lynnville-Sully takes a 10-0 conference mark into a road South Iowa Cedar League game on Tuesday at Montezuma.
PCM boys 50, Roland-Story boys 49
MONROE — The Mustangs overcame one of its worst offensive nights of the season against Roland-Story on Friday night.
PCM's boys basketball team trailed the Norse after one quarter, scored only 18 points in the first half and allowed 11 3-pointers at the defensive end but still found a way to stay in second place in the Heart of Iowa Conference standings.
The Mustangs hit only 19-of-50 from the floor but defeated Roland-Story 50-49. It was PCM's lowest scoring output of the season. The Mustangs came into the game averaging 66 points per game but were held to 51 and 50 in the two games against the Norse this season.
PCM won both games though and is now 10-2 on the season.
Junior Reed Worth led the Mustangs in scoring for the third straight game. He had just two points at halftime but finished with 18 against Roland-Story. He hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Mustangs overcome a small deficit late in the game.
PCM trailed 47-45 following a 3-pointer by Carter Greenfield. It was the sixth trey of the quarter by the Norse.
Senior Jackson Thomas put the Mustangs ahead for good with a 3-point play. Worth then finished off the win with a layup in the final minute.
Roland-Story (5-8 overall, 2-6 in the HOIC) got 24 points from junior Kade Faga. He buried a pair of free throws with 37.7 seconds to go to close the Norse gap to one. But neither team scored the rest of the way.
The Mustangs, who improved to 7-1 in the conference, missed a layup inside the lane on their final possession.
Roland-Story had the ball with 6 seconds to go and a chance to win. The possession ended with a missed shot in the lane. Junior Andrew Van Ryswyk, who came into the game averaging nine rebounds per contest, forced a jump ball when he corralled the rebound falling to the floor.
The ball was given back to PCM with .7 seconds left and a final inbounds pass was enough to seal the Mustangs' fifth win in six games.
Worth added five rebounds and three steals to his team-high 18 points. Thomas scored 11 points and dished out three assists, Van Ryswyk tallied nine points and eight boards and senior Elijah Sperfslage chipped in seven points, four rebounds and four assists.
Senior Noah Lanphier grabbed five rebounds, and junior Isaac Telfer collected four boards off the bench.
Roland-Story girls 51, PCM girls 38
MONROE — Aside from one stretch of play late in the second quarter, the PCM girls' basketball team played Class 3A No. 8 Roland-Story nearly point-for-point at home during a Heart of Iowa Conference contest Friday night.
The Mustangs were even with the Norse 10-all after one quarter, and they outscored their visitors 18-16 in the second half. Unfortunately, Roland-Story put the game away with a barrage of 3-pointers late in the second quarter during a 51-38 win.
Roland-Story held a narrow 16-15 lead midway through the second quarter before closing out the period on a 19-5 run. During that stretch, Roland-Story buried five 3-pointers. The Norse hit seven treys in the game.
PCM was tied with the Norse after one quarter despite getting no points from its top three scorers.
Junior Sloan Hjortshoj scored all six of her points in the first frame to keep the Mustangs close.
Leading scorer Regan Freland got going in the second quarter, putting in eight of her 15. She hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Mustangs into the locker room down 35-20 at halftime.
Freshman Lilli Baird and Freland each scored to begin the third quarter, pulling PCM within 11. Junior Camryn Wignall then hit a 3-pointer and Freland's trey at the end of the quarter closed the gap to nine heading into the fourth.
The Mustangs, who have lost four out of their last five games, got within seven after Freland converted a layup between two defenders early in the fourth. That was as close as PCM (5-8 overall, 3-5 in the HOIC) would get.
Freland, the HOIC's second-leading scorer, finished with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals, and junior Morgan Uhlenhopp added six points and 15 boards. Hjortshoj scored six points, Baird chipped in four points and two assists and Wignall tallied three points, three rebounds and two assists.
Jenna Clark led all scorers with 16 points for Roland-Story, which won its fifth straight to improve to 12-2 overall and 6-2 in the HOIC. Madeline Morton and Susie Weaver each scored 10 apiece for the Norse.
Colfax-Mingo girls 49, Tri-County girls 35
THORNBURG — Junior Payton Rhone buried seven 3-pointers to lead the Colfax-Mingo girls' basketball team to a 49-35 victory on the road on Friday night.
Rhone put in a career-high 23 points and grabbed four rebounds in the South Iowa Cedar League victory over Tri-County. Rhone scored 20 or more points for the third time this season.
The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Tigerhawks. Colfax-Mingo is now 4-10 overall and 4-7 in the SICL. Tri-County lost its ninth in a row and dropped to 2-11 overall and 1-10 in conference play.
The Tigerhawks trailed 12-11 after one quarter but led 20-19 at halftime. Colfax-Mingo won the second half 29-16.
Junior Camilla Schlosser scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds to compliment Rhone's big night. Colfax-Mingo also got six points, five rebounds and four assists from junior Colbee Cunningham, five points and 12 rebounds from junior Jordan Atwood and four points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists from junior Delaney Underwood.
Tri-County was led by Allison's Steinke's 18 points.
Colfax-Mingo boys 67, Tri-County boys 47
THORNBURG — A big second quarter propelled the Colfax-Mingo boys' basketball team during a 67-47 win over Tri-County on the road during an SICL contest Friday night.
The Tigerhawks led by four points after one but outscored the Trojans 24-9 in the second frame to pull away for good. Colfax-Mingo won the second half by one point.
Senior Jarod Nichols recorded his 12th double-double in 13 games, finishing with 25 points, 13 rebounds and five steals. He's now only 15 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
Sophomore Brady Berkey tallied 14 points, six assists, three steals and three rebounds for the Tigerhawks, who improved to 10-3 overall and 8-3 in the SICL.
Senior Alex Lewis scored 13 points, senior Jonathan Jacobs chipped in nine points and 10 assists and senior Reegan Van Dyke tallied six points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals in the win.
The Tigerhawks collected 24 assists on 29 field goals and turned it over only 12 times.
The win for Colfax-Mingo was its ninth in its past 10 games. Tri-County lost its fifth straight and fell to 2-10 overall and 2-9 in SICL play.