Newton boys build momentum for playoffs

CARLISLE — Newton High’s Cardinal boys are going into the Class 3A playoffs on a two-game winning streak. The Cardinals concluded regular-season play Thursday with a 72-54 win over host Carlisle.

Following a close first half, Newton held a 31-24 lead at the break. The two teams had played to a 16-16 tie in the first quarter, but the Cardinals got the edge with a 15-8 second quarter surge.

Newton’s lead was still 13 points, 48-35, after three quarters. Newton outscored the Wildcats 24-19 in the fourth period to seal the win.

“Our guys did a great job of closing out the regular season playing very effectively on offense and defense,” Newton head coach Bill Liley said. “We are excited about the momentum we’ve created going into the playoffs.”

The Cardinals open the Class 3A District 12 tournament at home Monday. Newton hosts a district doubleheader starting with Grinnell playing Oskaloosa at 6:30 p.m. The Cardinals (13-8) play South Tama at 8 p.m.

Winners of Monday’s games play for the District 12 championship at 7 p.m. at the highest remaining seeded team’s court. The District 12 champion plays the District 11 champion in the 3A Substate 6 title contest at 7 p.m. Feb. 29 at Southeast Polk with the winner advancing to the 3A state tournament.

Newton’s Connor Gholson drained five 3-pointers in building a game-high 23 points against Carlisle. Garrett Sturtz added 22 points plus led the team in rebounds with five. Sturtz, Jwan Roush and Joseph Banfield each dished out four assists. Newton had 20 assists as a team.

Banfield pulled down three rebounds and made three steals. Sturtz had two steals.

Carlisle (6-15) had a three-game winning streak snapped Thursday night with the loss. Cole Henderson hit three of his team’s seven 3-pointers and was 6-of-7 from the free-throw line for 15 points. Noah Schmitt added 13 points. The Wildcats were 15-of-20 from the line.

Newton’s junior varsity wrapped up one of the most successful seasons at that level for the Cardinals in some years. The Cardinal junior varsity beat Carlisle, 68-57, to go 14-6 for the season. Newton led 45-19 at halftime.

Trey Vanderlaan netted six 3-pointers for 24 points to lead Newton, and Josh Gulling had four threes as he scored 18 points. Grant Garvis added nine points, and Grayson Graham had eight points and five assists.

Justin Fischer scored six points and controlled seven rebounds. Nate Van Zee had two points while Tyler Stanton and Cole Downey each had one point.

Newton’s freshmen lost 62-47 at Carlisle. Ryan Barr led the Cardinals with 10 points followed by Ben Leal and Aaron Bartels with eight points each. Taylor Greiner had seven points, Thomas Cox scored six, Cole Webster had five and Collin Hemann had three points.

Newton  16-15-17-24—72

Carlisle  16-8-11-19—54

Newton (FG/3-pt); Sturtz 7/2-2-3-22, Stout 1/1-0-1-5, Roush 1/1-0-4-5, Bennett 0/1-0-3-3, Banfield 4-0-3-8, Gholson 2/5-4-3-23, Ventling 1-0-3-2, Maher 2-0-3-4. TOTALS: 18/10-6-23-72.

Carlisle (FG/3-pt): Lester 0/2-0-1-6, Donovan 2-0-0-4, Howat 2-3-3-7, Evans 2-2-5-6, Henderson 0/3-6-0-15, Van Gorp 1-1-2-3, Schmitt 2/2-3-2-13. TOTALS: 9/7-15-14-54.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com