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Friday night’s of high school basketball are becoming numbered for area teams. It was a special night at Newton as the Cardinal teams split a doubleheader. Baxter girls and boys won at home and Colfax-Mingo’s boys won and girls lost at home. Lynnville-Sully’s squads notched road wins while Prairie City-Monroe’s teams dropped a road twin bill.
Newton boys 69, Grinnell boys 63
An off-balanced long-range shot for a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the first and a perfect 3-point shot to open the second half propelled Newton High senior point guard Garrett Sturtz to the top of the school’s career scoring list. Sturtz and the Cardinals had a lot of work to do to thwart visiting Grinnell’s Tigers bid to win their first game of the season.
Sturtz scored a career-high 47 points to guide Newton to a 69-63 victory in Little Hawkeye Conference play. He broke his own NHS single-game scoring mark of 44 — which he scored twice this season.
“It’s an amazing accomplishment but it so much better to do it with us winning this game,” Sturtz said about his two scoring records Friday night. “The pressure was on them (Grinnell) coming in here looking to win their first game. We came out and played our game and got the win. The was a big game for us.”
Sturtz needed 21 points to become the all-time leading scorer for Newton. He scored 19 points in the first half to give the Cardinals a 32-25 lead. With 7:33 on the clock in the third quarter, Sturtz spotted up and drained a trey with the NHS student section behind him, eclipsing Connor Gholson, who graduated last year with a career total of 1,395 points.
The Tigers battled back from a 14-point third-quarter deficit on a 9-4 run to make it 48-41 heading into the fourth quarter. A three-point play by Ethan Mitchell, who had 24 points for Grinnell, trimmed the margin to two points, 50-48, at true 5:38 mark.
Sturtz converted on a three-point play of his own less than a minute later then sophomore Quintrail Coley had a putback to give Newton a 57-50 lead. Newton’s final 12 points came from the free-throw line as Sturtz downed 10 of those and Coley hit two with 1:58 to make it 60-54.
With 24.3 seconds left in the game, Sturtz stepped to the foul line with 43 points in his pocket for the night. He sank both attempts to break his single-season record and hit two more 10 seconds later.
Newton got seven points from senior Grayson Graham and six from Coley. The other nine points came on 3-pointers by senior Grant Garvis, junior Aaron Bartels and sophomore Kyle Long.
Mitchell hit five 3-pointers for the Tigers (0-15, 0-10). Jake Hull added 19 points.
Newton evened its LHC mark at 5-5. The Cardinals’ next conference game is Tuesday at Class 3A top-ranked Oskaloosa.
Before that showdown, Newton (9-5) hosts Chariton in a non-conference contest on Monday.
4A No. 3 Grinnell girls 65, Newton girls 22
Not much went right for Newton High’s Cardinals girls Friday night in their Little Hawkeye Conference home game against Class 4A third-ranked Grinnell.
A basket by senior Marcelina Marvelli had Newton within one point, 3-2, then it went downhill from there for the Cardinals. The Tigers were up 16-2 by the end of the first quarter, steadily pulling further away toward a 65-22 win.
“We really struggled with their pressure. We jumped on that emotional roller coaster, including me. When you do that and go with the highs and lows, you make mistakes,” Newton head coach Brandon Sharp said. “I made mistakes like not getting players in the game at times we wanted them in there.”
Sharp said the Tigers were that much better than the Cardinals, but he was confident his team will get better. He said the Cardinals keep learning and moving forward.
Newton trailed Grinnell 35-7 at halftime. The Cardinals didn’t score in the second half until there was a minute left in the third quarter. Senior Taylor Ryan scored to make it 47-9. The final 8:30 of the game was played under a running clock.
Marvelli led the Cardinals with eight points as she hit two 3-pointers in the game. Ryan had six points. Rachel Rhoads pulled dow six rebounds.
Grinnell (16-1/9-1 LHC) was led by Sienna Durr with 16 points. Kameron Moore had 13 points and Macy Harris scored 12 points.
Newton fell to 1-9 in LHC play and 3-14 overall. The Cardinals host Chariton (14-4) on Monday in non-conference play then go to Oskaloosa (0-17, 0-10) on Tuesday in conference action.
Lynnville-Sully Hawk teams overpower HLV
VICTOR — Lynnville-Sully’s girls and boys had a successful road trip to Victor on Friday in South Iowa Cedar League play. The Hawk girls rolled to a 50-17 win over host HLV followed by the Class 1A eighth-ranked Hawk boys thump HLV, 83-53.
“I thought tonight we played as close to a complete game defensively and offensively as we had all season,” Lynnville-Sully girls’ head coach Jerry Hulsing said. “I was pleased with the girls’ focus to details. Our defense was pretty solid and it was good to have balance scoring.”
The Hawk girls built on a 22-5 first-quarter lead to go into halftime up 39-7. They shot 51 percent from the field and held HLV to 17 percent, 6-of-34, from the field.
Mallory Loftus paced Lynnville-Sully with 13 points. Camryn Russell added 12 points. Mariah Vos scored 10 points, cleared six rebounds and had two steals.
HLV’s leading scorer was Haley Coats with nine points.
Lynnville-Sully’s boys led 45-24 at halftime. They had six players score in double figures led by Tanner Foster’s 20 points.
Jesse Van Wyk pushed his career-point total to 967 with 16 points Friday night. He pulled down nine rebounds to go to 538 career rebounds. He also had six assists.
Tyson Vander Linden and Rylan James each scored 11 points. Brevin Hansen and Blaize Kuhlmann tossed in 10 points apiece.
“We got off to a slow start, but got it going in the second quarter. It was neat to see six guys reach double figures in scoring,” Hawk boys’ head coach Nick Harthoorn said. “There were a few things we could work to shore up defensively. Hopefully we can address those in practice and continue to get better.”
Lynnville-Sully’s teams go to Brooklyn on Tuesday to play BGM in SICL games.
Baxter boys 77, CAL 24
BAXTER — The Baxter boys' basketball team stayed in the Iowa Star Conference South Division title hunt with an easy home win over CAL on Friday night.
Senior Braydon Aker tallied 18 points and 15 rebounds and four players scored in double-figures in all as the Bolts improved to 10-5 overall and 9-1 in conference play. Baxter has won six of its last seven games.
Junior Will Clapper, who came into the game averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds per game, got into early foul trouble, but the Bolts ended the first quarter with five consecutive 3-pointers to lead 26-8.
The Bolts hit nine 3-pointers in the game, and if they weren't hitting from long range, they were scoring from point-blank range. Baxter made 57 percent of its shots on Baxter Hall of Fame and Military Night.
Aker was 9-of-9 from the floor and five of his 15 rebounds came at the offensive end of the floor. He also had four assists. Senior Travis Lindemoen tallied 12 points and seven boards, sophomore Cole Damman chipped in 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals and senior Noah Galloway hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points off the bench. Clapper finished with nine points, eight rebounds, three steals and three assists.
Baxter led 56-15 at halftime and outscored the Cadets (0-16, 0-12) 23-9 in the second half.
Baxter girls 51, CAL girls 12
BAXTER — The Baxter girls' basketball team scored the game's first 16 points, led 20-2 after one quarter and coasted to a second straight win during Iowa Star Conference South Division action on Friday night.
The Bolts (3-14, 3-7) led 39-2 after three quarters. Baxter only outscored CAL 12-10 in the second half. The Cadets dropped to 0-17 overall and 0-11 in conference play.
Twelve different Baxter players scored in the game, but no one reached double-figures.
Senior Sailor Hinegardner tallied eight points, junior Kaylin Van Ryswyk put in seven and sophomore Holly Jessen scored six. Senior Jordynn Wesselink and freshman Sophie Meyer each tallied five points.
Colfax-Mingo boys 67, BGM boys 53
COLFAX — The Colfax-Mingo boys' basketball team bookend 23-point quarters in its win over BGM during South Iowa Cedar League action on Friday night.
Sophomore Brady Berkey scored 24 points on 10-of-15 from the floor and hit four 3-pointers and seniors Jonathan Jacobs and Jarod Nichols both had double-doubles.
Jacobs finished with 15 points and 12 assists and Nichols tallied 14 points and 15 rebounds. Nichols has a double-double in 16 of the Tigerhawks' 17 games this season.
Colfax-Mingo (12-5 overall, 9-5 in the SICL) led 23-18 after one quarter and then pulled away from a tie game with a 23-9 advantage in the fourth frame.
Senior Alex Lewis tallied eight points, seven rebounds and six assists in the win. Colfax-Mingo snapped a two-game losing streak. The Tigerhawks had 22 assists on 24 field goals, were 8-of-15 from long range and turned it over only 10 times.
BGM lost its third straight game and dropped to 7-11 overall and 6-9 in the SICL. Ulises Felix led the Bears with 17 points and Kyle Doty scored 11 points.
The win for Colfax-Mingo completed the season sweep of BGM. The Tigerhawks won by five in Brooklyn earlier this season.
BGM girls 61, Colfax-Mingo girls 50
COLFAX — The Colfax-Mingo girls' basketball team couldn't overcome a poor first half Friday night at home against BGM.
The Tigerhawks trailed 32-20 at halftime and lost to the Bears by 11 during South Iowa Cedar League action.
Junior Jordan Atwood scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and senior Ries Wilson scored eight points and collected 13 boards. Junior Payton Rhone scored nine points, senior McKeely Tjaden tallied seven points and junior Delaney Underwood chipped in six points.
The Tigerhawks (5-13, 5-10) committed 25 turnovers and made only 19-of-50 from the floor in losing their third straight game.
BGM (8-12, 6-9) was led by Lyla Kriegel's 17 points. Rylie Van Ersvelde scored 13 points and Maddie Jansen chipped in 11 points for the Bears.
The win by BGM secured a season split in the series. Colfax-Mingo defeated the Bears by 18 in Brooklyn earlier this season.
South Hamilton sweeps PCM
JEWELL — The Prairie City-Monroe basketball teams traveled to Jewell on Friday night and both Mustang teams returned home with losses.
The South Hamilton boys stayed undefeated and clinched the Heart of Iowa Conference title with a 56-44 win over PCM. The Mustangs (13-5 overall, 9-3 in the conference) trailed by eight after one and by eight at halftime, but the Hawks (17-0, 12-0) outscored the Mustangs 11-4 in the third quarter to pull away for good. PCM won the fourth quarter by three, but the damage had already been done.
Senior Jackson Thomas, junior Andrew Van Ryswyk and sophomore Derek Brown all had nine points, while seniors Elijah Sperfslage and Dayton Boell both had eight points in the loss.
In the girls' game, South Hamilton rallied from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 41-36.
PCM trailed 17-15 at halftime but held a 32-25 lead after three quarters. South Hamilton jumped in front late in the fourth quarter. The Hawks led by one with one minute to play before hitting clutch free throws down the stretch to finish off the win.
South Hamilton (6-12, 5-7) outscored PCM 16-4 in the fourth quarter. The Mustangs (6-13, 4-8) have lost seven of their last eight games.