Carlisle downs Newton boys in Achieve Challenge scrimmage

Newton head boys basketball coach Jason Carter expected rebounding to be challenging for his squad this season.

The Cardinals are not very big and lacked physicality against Carlisle during an Achieve Challenge scrimmage on Tuesday.

The Wildcats made things even tougher on Newton as 6-foot-6 Jack Norton and 6-6 Ben Glawe controlled the glass, and the Cardinals couldn’t overcome a tough shooting night during a 60-37 loss.

“We need to be way more physical with our rebounding,” Carter said. “I knew coming into the season being able to rebound was going to be a concern. We aren’t that tall and we aren’t that physical.

“We need to find a way to be better at team rebounding. We don’t have that one guy who is going to grab 10 rebounds a game. We have to find a way to get everyone on the glass.”

Landon Bozarth was the only Cardinal who scored in double figures and his five early points gave the hosts a 5-4 advantage early in the first.

But a 10-0 run by Carlisle pushed the visitors in front for good. The Wildcats led 16-7 after one quarter and outscored Newton 19-7 in the fourth.

The Cardinals made seven 3-pointers, but there was a stretch in the second where the ball just didn’t go in the basket. That allowed the Wildcats to extend their lead to 26-11.

Newton closed the gap to 10 at the break following an 8-3 run that featured 3s from Christian Ergenbright and Caden Klein.

“We have to find more points in the paint,” Carter said. “I think we’ll be a decent 3-point shooting team by the end of the year. But we lived and died by the 3 tonight, and it was mostly dying. We had good looks and have good shooters who can make shots, but we have to be able to score in other ways.”

Carlisle extended its lead to 34-19 early in the third and the advantage stayed at 15 with 2:53 to go in the quarter. But triples by Dawson Maki and Cade Bauer closed the gap to nine late in the frame.

The Cardinals trailed by 11 after 24 minutes, but Carlisle’s big final frame was too much to overcome.

Newton was never closer than 12 in the fourth and the Wildcats used a 13-0 run to put away the victory.

“We played a little nervous and a little scared,” Carter said. “It’s to be expected for a first varsity game for some of them. And they don’t see two 6-6 guys who are that skilled at the JV level.

“Hopefully this was first-game jitters. But we also have to stick to what we do and not go rogue when things don’t go well. That happened a lot tonight.”

Bozarth led the Cardinals with 11 points, while Klein scored all six of his points in the second. Ergenbright, Bauer and Maki each made one triple and Qhjuan Coley buried three free throws.

Newton had a 7-5 advantage in made 3s, but Carlisle had a 23-13 surplus in field goals.

“We have to find ways to get the ball inside. We were too timid even in fast break situations,” Carter said. “I think we were way too unselfish at times. They passed up too many shots that ended up being turnovers later.

“They just have to continue to have confidence and attack the same way we would against anyone else.”

Norton led Carlisle with 15 points, while Calvin Frey added 14 and Trey Osterhaus put in 11.

The Wildcats were 9-of-17 from the free-throw line, while Newton made only 4-of-14.

Notes: Carter said he liked how a few of his reserves played off the bench. He expressed to the team after the game that the starting lineup is a work in progress. “We are definitely still figuring it out,” Carter said. “I told them tonight that in no way shape or form is the starting lineup anywhere close to permanent at this point. We’re going to continue to challenge kids to earn time on the floor. It doesn’t matter what grade you’re in. You have to earn that opportunity.”