December 24, 2024

Cardinal boys lose to Eagles

By Jocelyn Sheets

Battling for the ball at the basket is Newton High senior Kaleb Dydell and Pella Christian’s Isaiah Gritters (34) during a January game at Newton. On Tuesday was the rematch in Little Hawkeye Conference action at Pella, the Eagles got a 56-47 win over the visiting Cardinals. (Jocelyn Sheets)

PELLA — In a tight, low-scoring game on Tuesday, it came down to which team was going to blink first. Newton High’s Cardinals and their hosts, the Pella Christian Eagles, went into the Little Hawkeye Conference game at 4-8 apiece in conference play.

The Cardinals blinked first. A free throw by senior post player Quintrail Coley made it a two-point game, 39-37, as the fourth quarter began. The Eagles went on a 9-3 run to gain a 48-40 lead midway through the period.

Newton never recovered. Pella Christian (10-9) chalked up a 56-47 win on its Senior Night. The Cardinals (7-11) dropped their fourth straight LHC contest to go 4-9 with one more conference game remaining.

Coley was answering the bell early for Newton, tossing in six of his 12 first-half points in the first quarter. Sophomores Noah Allen and Adam Mattes each hit a 3-pointer in the period as the Cardinals moved to a 14-11 advantage.

Coley had back-to-back baskets in the second and Newton’s lead was 18-13. The Eagles came right back to gain a 20-18 lead then it was back-and-forth. A Dan Jungling 3-pointer later pushed Pella Christian to a 38-26 halftime lead.

Mattes tied the game with the first bucket of the third quarter. Senior Kyle Long answered an Eagle 3-pointer with one of his own. Down three points again, it was a trey by sophomore Zay Arguello to knot the score at 36-all.

Jungling netted another quarter-ending 3-pointer and PC led 39-36 with eight minutes to play. The Eagles extended the margin to 44-37 when Long nailed a 3-pointer.

Pella Christian held off Newton the rest of the way with a 12-10 scoring edge.

Allen paced the Cardinals with 17 points, hitting three 3-pointers in the game. Coley ended up with 13 points. Long and Arguello each had two 3-pointers for six points apiece. Mattes had five points.

Newton was 3-of-5 at the free-throw line. Pella Christian hit 9-of-15 attempts at the line.

Josh Van Gorp topped Pella Christian’s scoring list with 21 points. Jungling had five 3-pointers for his 15 points.

Newton closes out the LHC season at home Friday with a 7:45 p.m. game against Indianola for the Cardinals’ Senior Night. The Cardinal boys finish the season with two home non-conference games next week.

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