Reserves key in Newton boys’ win over No. 8 Pella

Newton and Pella shot a combined 3-of-36 from 3-point range during their Little Hawkeye Conference game on Friday night.

But reserve Drew Thompson buried the only shot he put up and it was a big one during the Cardinals’ 42-36 home win against the Class 3A No. 8 Dutch.

The shot came with Newton trailing by five late in the third quarter and the Cardinals outscored Pella 15-9 in the fourth to snap a nine-game losing skid against one of their biggest rivals.

And with the substate seeding meeting quickly approaching, a win like this will most definitely help Newton head boys basketball coach Jason Carter at the negotiating table.

“Having a top-eight or so win is huge,” Carter said. “This is a signature win for us, but we need to continue to take care of business the rest of the way.”

The Cardinals have won three straight games and four of their last five.

Pella led 5-4 after one, but Newton went into halftime with a 16-15 advantage. The Dutch (11-5 overall, 7-3 in the LHC) outscored the Cardinals 14-11 in the third to go back in front.

But a strong night from Newton’s bench propelled the Cardinals to the win.

Starter Cole Plowman missed the game with an illness and key reserve Tade Vanderlaan left the game with an injury in the first quarter and didn’t return.

That meant other players needed to step up. Those players were Thompson, Treycen Garton and Caleb Mattes.

Mattes finished with six points and a team-best seven rebounds, Garton put in a career-high five points and Thompson buried the biggest 3-pointer of the night. And the shot came off a pass from Garton.

“We had a next man up mentality,” Carter said. “They proved they can step up and make big plays for us.”

The Cardinals shot 41.2 percent from the floor despite making only 3-of-16 from 3-point range. They were 11-of-16 from the free-throw line and committed nine turnovers.

Pella came into the game shooting better than 33 percent from long range but were 0-of-20 from 3 against Newton. The Dutch also were held 23 points under their per game average.

“We had pressure on the ball all night,” Carter said. “They didn’t have too many open looks. They like to take inside-out 3s. We knew if we could play gap defense and keep the ball in front of us, we could be in good shape. The guys played their tails off.”

Jake Ingle led the Cardinals (9-5, 6-4) with 11 points. He was 6-of-7 from the line in the game and buried four big ones in the final 2 minutes.

Brody Bauer registered nine points and five rebounds and Adam Mattes and Kael Swarts each put in four points.

Karl Miller led Pella with 10 points and five rebounds, but he was 0-of-9 from 3-point range. Keegan Hansen grabbed 12 boards as the Dutch out-rebounded Newton 30-19.

Former Newton Cardinal Noah Allen scored eight points and dished out four assists for Pella. He was 6-of-6 from the line but 1-of-9 from the floor and 0-of-7 from long range.

Newton defeated Pella for the first time since sweeping the Dutch in 2017-18. And it took a fourth-quarter rally to pull it off.

“We stayed patient with what we do,” Carter said. “The guys got after it defensively and executed on offense. We limited Pella’s transition game and made free throws down the stretch.”