Cards overcome gritty Indians, advance to substate semifinals

Eleven substate games in Class 3A were decided by single digits on Monday night. Eight had a difference of only five points.

And two teams currently ranked in the top 10 scored two-point victories to advance.

When the postseason hits, nothing is guaranteed and every team tries just a little bit harder to avoid elimination.

Whether or not that was the case with Newton in its 3A Substate 6 contest with Oskaloosa is unknown, but the Cardinals recovered in time to score a double-digit victory and advanced to the semifinal round following a 70-56 triumph over the Indians.

“You can’t buy into the fact that we are the No. 1 seed. Everyone is playing for their season and everybody is going to give us everything they have,” Newton head boys basketball coach Jason Carter said. “You have to earn it every single time you are on the floor.

“I felt like we got too comfortable for some stretches. We have to stay pedal to the metal for 32 minutes. And do what we do best.”

Next up for Newton in the 3A Substate 6 semifinals is Fairfield, which advanced following a 57-51 win over Washington. The top-seeded Cardinals and the fifth-seeded Trojans (12-9) face off at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Newton.

The sixth-ranked Cardinals held a comfortable lead after one quarter, but Oskaloosa stayed in the game with a solid second frame and a strong third. Newton’s senior leadership was just too much in the fourth though.

Newton had little trouble with Oskaloosa in the two regular-season meetings, but the Indians were a much more game squad in the postseason contest.

The Cardinals (15-6) went up 7-3 early on a 3-pointer by Jake Ingle and baskets by Brody Bauer and Cole Plowman. But Indian freshman Max Roach buried a pair of triples to get the visitors to 7-6.

Newton then used an 8-2 run to go in front 15-8 after one. The spurt included a putback by Carson Satterfield, a dunk by Plowman and a 3-point play from Bauer.

Newton went up by as many as 11 in the second after back-to-back layups by Bauer. Oskaloosa pulled within four twice before Drew Thompson made a pair of free throws and Plowman scored inside to end the half.

The Indians wouldn’t go away in the third either. Newton’s lead grew to 12 early in the period, but a 10-0 run by Oskaloosa later drew the Indians even at 43-all.

Thompson put the Cardinals back in front though as he converted a layup at the buzzer.

“Everybody realizes it’s potentially their last game,” Bauer said. “Seeding matters, but everyone knows if they don’t win they are done.

“Give credit to Oskaloosa. We didn’t play nearly as well as we should have, but they played hard and came out fast. Playing a team for a third time isn’t always easy either.”

The 10-0 run by the Indians came with Bauer, Ingle and Plowman all on the bench. Plowman was in foul trouble, but Carter was sending a bit of a message to the other two.

“We weren’t working the ball around and weren’t doing what we needed to do out there,” Ingle said. “He talked to us before the fourth quarter started and asked us if we were going to play selfish basketball or win the game. I think that woke us up a little bit.”

The fourth quarter began with a Bauer 3 and then Plowman scored six of the next eight points.

The other two points came from Ingle and two free throws by Bauer with 4:07 to play in the game extended Newton’s lead to 13.

Bauer and Plowman each scored 20 points in the win, while Ingle added 11 points and seven assists.

“When those three are at their best, we are at our best. We really are,” Carter said. “But those three understand they can’t do it all by themselves. The other guys have to look for their opportunities. We need the rest of the guys to give us four, six or eight points a game. That’s where we make our separation most nights.”

Oskaloosa got as close as nine down the stretch, but two free throws each by Thompson, Plowman and Ingle and a freebie by Kacey Sommars finished off the Indians.

“Basically the conversation was we needed to wake up or we’d get sent home,” Bauer said. “We know what we are capable of. We kicked it in when we needed to and got the job done.

“None of us like being pulled, but when it happens you just have to kick it in gear and play better.”

Plowman tallied eight rebounds and five blocks, Bauer grabbed five boards and dished out two assists and Ingle corralled three rebounds.

Thompson registered eight points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals, Satterfield finished with four points and seven boards, Sommars put in five points and Caleb Mattes plucked two rebounds.

“When we started playing team basketball, it made a world of a difference,” Carter said. “I thought down the stretch our senior leadership took over.”

The Cardinals shot 57.8 percent from the floor, made 3-of-12 from 3 and buried 15-of-18 from the foul line. Newton turned the ball over 11 times and out-rebounded the Indians 29-21.

Oskaloosa (3-19) got 16 points and eight rebounds from Waylon Bolibaugh. Roach put in 16 points and Aidan Scholes added 14 points and five boards.

The Indians shot 42 percent from the floor, connected on 8-of-23 from 3 and made 4-of-8 from the foul line. They committed 17 turnovers.

Notes: Newton senior Tade Vanderlaan missed his second straight game with a knee injury. Carter said Vanderlaan is day-to-day, but they hope to get him back soon. … Second-seeded and ninth-ranked Mount Pleasant advanced to the Substate 6 semifinals following a 40-38 win over Fort Madison. Mount Pleasant (18-5) hosts third-seeded Solon on Thursday. The Spartans (17-5) defeated sixth-seeded Keokuk, 63-54, to advance. … The Cardinals defeated Oskaloosa by 36 at home and 22 on the road during conference play. … No. 8 Webster City edged Gilbert 63-60 and No. 10 Sioux City Bishop Heelan snuck past LeMars 49-47 in two other close games in 3A.