Offensive struggles plague Cardinal boys in loss to Norwalk

Newton’s boys basketball team has scored fewer than 50 points in three of its last five wins.

Low scoring games are starting to become part of the Cardinals’ identity. Unfortunately for the home team, Newton scored a season-low during a loss to Norwalk on Tuesday night.

A fast start and a strong third quarter were not enough for the Cardinals as the Warriors outscored Newton 19-11 in the fourth during a 41-36 road win in Little Hawkeye Conference play.

“Untimely turnovers and poor execution were the difference tonight,” Newton boys head basketball coach Jason Carter said. “When you allow 41 points, that should be a win. Our offense just comes and goes. We have to find a way to be more consistent.”

The Cardinals turned the ball over seven times in a win over Pella last Friday. That number grew to 14 on Tuesday and Norwalk only committed six turnovers.

Another big difference in the game came at the free-throw line. Norwalk was 20-of-26 and Newton made only 1-of-4.

The Cardinals (9-6 overall, 6-5 in the conference) jumped out to an 8-2 lead as Jake Ingle and Adam Mattes canned 3-pointers and Mattes scored on a drive to the hoop.

Reverse layups by Cole Plowman and Kacey Sommars put the Cardinals in front 12-6 after one.

The Warriors (8-8, 5-6) took a lead in the second as Redek Born scored five in a row to put his team in front 14-12. It was 16-14 Warriors at the half.

Newton scored 11 points in both the third and fourth but held Norwalk to six in the third.

The Warriors scored 19 points in the fourth and 15 of those came at the line. The Norwalk lead grew to 39-30 with 25 seconds to play, but Ingle made a layup with 20 seconds left and Brody Bauer hit a baseline jumper and scored at the buzzer to close the gap.

“We turned it into a dribble-drive offense. We weren’t cutting, we weren’t screening and we weren’t setting up our screens,” Carter said. “Combine that with missing easy ones we have to make, and I just never felt like we played with the energy that we needed to. We had a few chances to pull away and just couldn’t do it. We committed too many turnovers.”

Bauer was the only Cardinal in double-figures as he scored 10 points and added six rebounds and three assists.

Mattes had nine points, five boards and two assists, Ingle registered eight points and two assists and Kael Swarts chipped in three points and two rebounds.

Sommars led the reserves with four points, three rebounds and two assists, Caleb Mattes grabbed four rebounds and Cole Plowman finished with three boards and two blocks.

Born led Norwalk with 15 points, but the Warriors were just 1-of-8 from 3-point range.

Swarts, Adam Mattes and Treycen Garton all were recognized between varsity games for Senior Night.

“They are great kids on and off the floor. I’m proud of all three of them,” Carter said. “I hope we can harness the good things that we’ve done this season, keep tweaking some things we aren’t doing well and finish the season strong.”

Notes: Newton plays Pella Christian at 7:45 p.m. on Friday in Pella and faces Knoxville at Wells Fargo Arena at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday in Des Moines. … Tade Vanderlaan missed the game with an injury, and his return is not yet known, according to Carter.