Cards fly past Fairfield, advance to substate final

Cole Plowman knew he was in a big-boy matchup against Fairfield’s Max Weaton on Thursday.

The 6-foot-6 Weaton came into the game averaging 20 points and 13 rebounds per game.

The Trojan senior was the Cardinals’ No. 1 priority during their Class 3A Substate 6 semifinal game and their solid defensive effort inside the lane pushed Newton into the substate championship game for the second straight season.

“We absolutely challenged (Plowman),” Newton head boys basketball coach Jason Carter said. “We knew if Cole won that matchup, there was a high probability we win the basketball game. I feel like our 1-4 was quite a bit better than theirs and Cole went out and dominated like we know he can.”

Plowman and Kacey Sommars limited Weaton to only three points and Plowman’s 18 points, six rebounds and six blocks led the top-seeded Cardinals to a 72-52 home win during the second round of the postseason.

Sixth-ranked Newton used a fast start to gain an early advantage, and the Cardinals never trailed in the contest. Balanced scoring was the key on the offensive end of the floor.

“That was huge. We have so many guys who can put the ball in the bucket so if one guy has an off night we have others who can step up and score,” Plowman said.

Newton is one game away from the 3A state tournament. Standing in the Cardinals’ way is third-seeded Solon, which defeated second-seeded Mount Pleasant, 49-36, in the other substate semifinal.

Newton and Solon (18-5) face off in the 3A Substate 6 title game at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Oskaloosa.

Plowman scored the Cardinals’ first seven points of the game against Fairfield and his first 3-pointer put the home team in front 7-2 early.

Fifth-seeded Fairfield (12-10) got back-to-back 3s from JJ Lane to close the gap to 9-8, but Newton’s 17-4 run that extended into the second quarter put the Trojans away for good.

“Everyone was hitting 3s, and we were all active on defense getting a lot of stops,” Plowman said. “We were in a groove.”

The Cardinals ended the first quarter on a 14-4 run that featured two treys from Jake Ingle and triples from Tade Vanderlaan and Drew Thompson.

Newton led 23-12 after one and Ingle’s third 3 of the half started the second.

Two points later, Newton used a 12-0 run to build its largest lead of the game. Ingle scored two more buckets and Carson Satterfield converted a putback and canned a trey to extend the margin to 38-14.

Satterfield gave the Cardinals a lift offensively, finishing with 11 points. He scored more than his season average of 5.4 points per game by halftime.

“It felt really good. I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win,” Satterfield said. “I was able to do that with scoring tonight.”

Fairfield responded to the 12-0 run with a 12-2 spurt of its own. Back-to-back 3s by Tate Allen highlighted the run and the Trojans trailed 40-26 at halftime.

The Cardinals (16-6) played through some minor foul trouble in the third. Plowman started the second half with another trey and Ingle scored on a running acrobatic layup in the lane.

A few minutes later Ingle picked up his third foul and went to the bench. He also missed parts of the second quarter with two fouls.

That gave Caleb Mattes an opportunity off the bench and he responded by scoring five points in 30 seconds. Those two baskets started an 11-2 run that also included back-to-back layups by Brody Bauer.

Carter trusts his bench to step up when starters get into foul trouble. He may have left Ingle in longer if the game was closer, but Mattes provided a punch off the bench that Newton needed.

“I think what makes this team special is we have a lot of guys who can step up on any given night,” Carter said. “(Caleb) came in with a ton of confidence after sitting on the bench for quite a while.

“We have the depth to keep rotating guys through and that allows us to stay aggressive on defense and being physical without having to worry about foul trouble.”

Newton led 58-40 after three quarters. The Trojans got as close as 14 in the fourth, but Satterfield scored twice inside, Bauer added a layup and two free throws and Plowman and Tade Vanderlaan each converted putbacks.

The Cardinals capped the win with an alley-oop dunk from Ian Reynolds. A dunk that Fairfield head boys basketball coach Michael Flattery took exception to.

“We have some athletic kids who come off the bench. That was an opportunity for him and that’s a memory for him to have for a long time,” Carter said. “To get a dunk in a playoff game is something he’ll remember. It is what it is. If he’s angry about it, he has that right. I’m not going to hold back just because it’s the end of the game. I want those guys to have a fun experience, too.”

Plowman scored nine points in each half and added two assists. Ingle scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half and chipped in five assists and two steals.

Satterfield registered six rebounds, three steals and two blocks, Bauer scored eight of his 10 points in the final two quarters and finished with eight boards and three assists.

Mattes scored eight points and grabbed two rebounds and Thompson tallied three points and two assists.

Vanderlaan, who returned after missing the past two games with a knee injury, contributed five points, four rebounds, three blocks and two assists.

“In a playoff setting, it’s big to share the ball,” Satterfield said. “When we are flowing and playing together and have four or five guys in double figures, that’s huge.”

The Cardinals shot 56 percent from the floor, made 9-of-23 from 3 and buried 9-of-12 from the free-throw line.

They committed 10 turnovers despite facing full-court pressure for most of the fourth quarter.

Lane scored 22 of his game-high 27 points in the first half. He came into the game averaging 17.7 points per game. Allen added 11 points, while Weaton was held to 17 points below his season average.

“He was the main part of their offense,” Plowman said about Weaton. “I just tried to keep him off his spots and make sure he had as few touches as possible.

“He likes to set a lot of screens so we switched off screens and if he got it down low, we did do some double teams. We wanted to make sure he didn’t catch the ball to begin with.”

Carter was pleased with how his team defended Weaton but didn’t realize his squad held him to only three points until after the win.

Weaton’s only field goal ended the Cardinals’ 12-0 run in the first half and he made a free throw with 6:07 to go in the game.

“We have full trust in Cole (Plowman) and Kacey (Sommars) to lock down any big man we face,” Satterfield said. “They did a really good job rebounding and playing defense tonight. That’s all we can really ask for.”

Notes: The substate championship game was scheduled to be played on Monday, but the Iowa High School Athletic Association moved the game to Tuesday so Solon fans could support the girls’ basketball team, which plays in the state tournament on Monday night. … Plowman has extended his single-season blocks record to 67. He’s averaging a team-best 14.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season. … Bauer is averaging 12.7 points, 5.4 boards and 2.6 assists per contest and Ingle has single-game averages of 10.6 points and 4.3 assists.