Cardinals, Trojans clash in 4A state opener

Dark horse and underdog are terms being bantered around about Newton High’s Cardinals as they set to open the program’s first appearance in the Class 4A state boys’ basketball tournament in 25 years.

“We don’t believe we’re underdogs,” senior Morgan Maher said. “We know we have a good team. We’re ready to go into the state tournament playing hard and hope it all works out for us.”

The Cardinals (19-5) were tapped as the No. 8 seed when the pairings were announced Wednesday for the 2017 Iowa Class 4A Boys’ State Basketball Tournament. They will play top-seeded and top-ranked Iowa City West (20-3).

Newton squares off with the Iowa City West Trojans at 1:05 p.m. next Wednesday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. It is the opening game of the 4A state tournament action.

Senior Connor Gholson, who is Newton High’s all-time leading scorer with 1,371 points, said after the Cardinals’ 48-44 substate championship win over Johnston Tuesday, not many people outside the NHS team believed the Cardinals would achieve the goal of a state tournament trip.

“We’re excited to face a team a lot of people consider the best in the state,” Gholson said of Iowa City West. “To be the best, you have to beat the best. We’re excited to take on the challenge.”

The winner of the Newton and Iowa City West game will play the winner of the No. 4 seeded Dubuque Hempstead (18-5) and No. 5 seeded Cedar Rapids Kennedy (18-5), which play at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday. The winners play in the semifinals on Friday at 1:30 p.m.

Defending champion West Des Moines Valley, which beat Iowa City West in the 2016 title game, earned the No. 2 seed. The Tigers (19-4) play seventh-seed Des Moines North (18-5) at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday. The No. 3 seed went to Bettendorf (18-5) which plays No. 6-seeded Sioux City East (21-2) at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday.

The winners of the two late games play in a semifinal at 3:15 p.m. Friday. The Class 4A consolation final is at 1:45 p.m. Saturday and the championship game is at 8:05 p.m. Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena.

“It’s pretty much the same type of matchup as we had against Johnston,” Newton head coach Bill Liley said of Iowa City West. “Iowa City West is a touch more athletic and shoots the ball better. We’ve played against these types of teams this season. Our kids can handle the atmosphere of a big game and deal with playing in the venue we will play in on Wednesday.”

Liley, who is in his second year as Cardinal head coach, pointed out the Trojans are very comfortable at Wells Fargo Arena. Iowa City West makes its 17th trip to the 4A state tournament and seventh straight, winning the title in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and finishing third in 2015 and second in 2016.

The 2017 4A state tournament is Newton’s ninth in the school’s history. It’s first state tournament trip was in 1926 with a championship. It finished second in 1930 then went in 1937, 1949 and 1958.

In 1963 and 1964, Newton won back-to-back state championships. The last trip before this season came in 1992 under head coach Dave Rowray.

“Our kids are not afraid of the moment, which I believe is what we need to put ourselves in a position to beat Iowa City West,” Liley said.

Iowa City West’s Trojans had four seniors and a sophomore listed as probably starters in the opener against Newton. The Cardinals send four seniors and a junior on the court as their starting five.

Connor McCaffery, a 6-foot-6 inch senior, averages 19.8 points a game for the Trojans. He has 53 3-pointers plus he is the team’s leading rebounder with 107. He has 91 assists and 42 steals. Devontae Lane, a 6-foot-2 senior, averages 14.8 points a game with 25 3-pointers, 81 rebounds, 95 assists and 71 steals.

Izaya Ono-Fullard is a 5-foot-11 senior with 53 assists and 20 steals, averaging 4.3 points a game. Nate Disterhoft is a 6-foot-4 senior with 69 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals. Sophomore Patrick McCaffery is 6-foot-7 averaging 14.3 points a game and had 18 3-pointers. He has pulled down 98 rebounds, dished out 46 assists, made 16 steals and has blocked 37 shots.

“We’re approaching this like we did the regular season — one day at a time, practice-by-practice and one game at a time,” Newton junior Garrett Sturtz said. “I love the chemistry of our team. We love to play ball with each other. It’s fun to go out knowing you have an edge like that over other teams.”

Gholson leads Newton in scoring with 489 points, averaging 20.4 points a game, but right behind him is Sturtz with 475 points, averaging 19.8 points a game. Senior Trey Vanderlaan averages 10.3 points a game. The trio of 6-foot-3 players are Newton’s triple threat from 3-pointer range.

Gholson has hit 76 3-pointers followed by Vanderlaan with 65 and Sturtz with 27. Sturtz is the team’s point guard and has the ability, as does all five starters, to put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket. Sturtz is an 88-percent free throw shooter, hitting 128-of-146, and Gholson downs foul shots at a 83-percent clip.

Maher is 6-foot-5, averaging 6.4 points a game, but has 94 rebounds and 62 assists. Senior Josh Ventling is a 6-foot-2 guard who has 82 rebounds, 67 assists and 19 steals. Ventling averages 5.4 points a game. All five starters for Newton can delivered a 3-pointer.

“We’re ready to play,” Ventling said. “We’re a great group of friends on and off the court. The camaraderie of our team is amazing. We believe in each other.”

Junior Grayson Graham, who is 6-foot-2, and 6-foot-5 inch freshman Quintrail Coley are the first two players off the Newton bench. Also on the state tournament squad are sophomores Aaron Bartels, McKenna Davis, junior Jerome Harris and freshmen Kyle Long and Cody Satterfield.

“Coach Liley has always told us to play our game and things will fall into place,” Vanderlaan said “He tells us don’t worry about the name on the other jerseys because we are Newton.”

Liley said his coaching staff of Tom Weeks, Jason Carter, Collin Reynolds, Dan Cibula and freshman coach Dustin Brisel have carried him through the process.

“They make this go. This is a group of hard working, dedicated guys who want to make sure these players have a great experience. They have put this program in a position to have continued success,” Liley said.

For now, the Cardinal players and coaches are focused on playing Iowa City West on Wednesday at Wells Fargo Arena.

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