No. 3 DCG spoils Newton’s shot at return to state tournament

ANKENY — With a spot in the state tournament on the line, Newton’s boys basketball team couldn’t sustain an almost perfect first-half performance against Class 3A No. 3 Dallas Center-Grimes on Monday night.

The Cardinals trailed the Mustangs by just two points at halftime but a few missed shots early in the second half put Newton behind by double-digits and DCG cruised to a 56-31victory in the 3A Substate 6 final at Ankeny Centennial High School.

“They made a couple 3s early and that combined with us missing a couple bunnies we should have made and a wide open 3 against the zone and it went from two to 10 in a hurry,” Newton head boys basketball coach Jason Carter said. “And it’s a tough team to play from behind against.”

DCG and Newton played three times this season with the Mustangs winning each game by double-digits.

The Cardinals were in the best position to win in the latest meeting. DCG led by 15 and 11 at halftime in the previous two contests but was only in front of Newton 23-21 in the latest matchup.

The Mustangs outscored the Cardinals 20-4 in the third quarter and held a 33-10 advantage in the second half.

“They really want to go go go but when they get a lead of 10 or more, they pull it out and slow it way down,” Carter said. “They make you come out and guard them. And as soon as you do that, they are tough because they are super quick and they all can get downhill.”

In the third, DCG (19-5) opened with the first six and then answered a Kael Swarts bucket with an 11-0 run.

Cole Glasgow, who leads the Mustangs at 15 points per game, scored seven in the third and the Mustangs hit their first two 3-pointers of the game in the frame.

Caleb Mattes put in Newton’s other bucket in the period, but DCG led 43-25 after three.

The Mustangs scored the first 10 points of the fourth, including a pair of layups by Glasgow, who scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Adam Mattes battled foul trouble throughout the game. He missed most of the second quarter and picked up his third foul in the third. His only points of the game came on a layup in the fourth.

Tade Vanderlaan hit his second triple in the fourth and Treycen Garton also drained a free throw in the final seconds.

“That first three or four minutes of the third did us in, but if you told me we would allow only 56 points to this team, I would have thought we’d have a chance to win,” Carter said. “They don’t get held under 60 very often.”

The Mustangs were limited to 56 points in their two most recent games but have only scored fewer than 60 seven times this winter.

On the flip side, Newton did not score at least 40 points in just three games this season. The 31 points scored against DCG was the Cardinals’ second lowest total of the year.

“We couldn’t make enough shots. We rushed a few of them, too, because they went up 10 and we wanted to get it all back right away,” Carter said. “They don’t have a 12-point play in basketball though.

“Just missing three or four shots to start the second half that I thought we should have made really changed the entire outcome of the game.”

The two teams traded baskets in the first half. Jake Ingle gave Newton (13-11) early leads with a pair of jumpers and Cole Plowman’s hook shot in the lane put the Cardinals in front 6-4.

DCG scored the final seven points of the quarter. Glasgow had five of those, including a dunk that energized the Mustang crowd.

Vanderlaan hit a 3 to open the second and Swarts scored on a hook shot to close the gap to 13-11.

There were seven ties in the first half and four of those came in the second at 15, 17, 19 and 21. Ingle gave the Cardinals a 19-17 lead with a bucket inside and Brody Bauer’s bank shot tied the game at 21-all. A putback by DCG gave it a narrow lead at the break.

“Our effort defensively in the first half was phenomenal,” Carter said. “We made them work for every basket they got. They really struggled to score in the half court. We defended really well.”

Ingle, Vanderlaan and Swarts all scored six points to lead the Cardinals. Swarts chipped in two rebounds and two blocks, Vanderlaan dished out three assists and Ingle delivered two assists.

Bauer registered four points, three rebounds and two assists and Caleb Mattes chipped in four points, three rebounds and three assists.

The Cardinals shot 31 percent from the floor, 2-of-16 from 3-point range and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. They turned the ball over just eight times.

“I’m really proud of these kids. They made a good run,” Carter said. “We hadn’t made it to the substate finals in five years.”

Bo Huston scored 11 points for DCG to compliment Glasgow’s double-double. The Mustangs shot 55 percent from the floor, 3-of-15 from 3 and 9-of-14 from the foul line. DCG out-rebounded Newton 33-20 and turned the ball over only five times.

Notes: Newton loses three seniors from this year’s squad — Adam Mattes, Swarts and Garton. Adam Mattes was held to two points and three rebounds in his final prep game. He was plagued by four fouls. “I couldn’t ask for three better seniors. They did everything we asked them to do, played for each other and are hard working kids,” Carter said. “They had to mold their games to the rest of the team this last year, too. They are super unselfish, and I wish them the best of luck with everything they do moving forward.” … Newton came into the game winners of three in a row but were 4-5 in its previous nine games. DCG has now won four straight and eight of its past nine.