Newton boys re-write record book in substate win over Boone

The Newton boys basketball team nearly reached its single-game scoring average at halftime and six different players scored in the opening quarter.

It was a record-setting night for the Cardinals on Monday and a fast start powered the hosts to a postseason win over Boone.

Cade Bauer set a school record for made 3-pointers in a game, four players reached double figures and the Cardinals advanced past the Toreadors following a 97-54 thrashing in Class 3A Substate 7 quarterfinal action.

“I love watching my teammates do well, but it’s always nice to see the ball go down, too,” Bauer said. “Us all contributing to the scoring will only help us moving forward. If they have to guard me, that means the other guys will be open again.”

Newton got plenty of open looks from outside. The Cardinals buried a school-record 16 treys, handed out a school-record 27 assists and the 97 points were the most in a regulation game since 1987.

“It was a good day, and it starts with our ball movement and handling their pressure,” Newton head boys basketball coach Jason Carter said. “Once the ball started to go through, it was contagious and the boys fed off each other. It was a good team win.”

The victory moves Newton to the substate semifinals where it will face 3A No. 9 Pella at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Pella.

Newton came into the contest averaging 51 points per game. After a big first quarter, the Cardinals nearly reached that number at halftime.

Before that, they scored the game’s first 10 points and led 25-3 but also put in a least 21 points in all four quarters.

Landon Bozarth opened the game with seven straight and Bauer’s first triple made it 10-0 with 5:05 to play in the first.

Caden Klein scored five straight to swell the Cardinals’ margin to 15-2 and Dawson Maki’s five in a row extended the advantage to 25-3.

Maki scored seven of his nine points in the first and Tyler Thompson’s bucket inside the lane gave Newton (12-10) a 29-7 lead after one.

Boone came into the game allowing 67 points per game to its opposition. The Cardinals reached that number before the end of the third, but it also allowed them to get plenty of open looks in the first half.

“We’ve gotten off to a lot of slow starts this year,” Bauer said. “We talked a lot before the game about the race to 10 points. I think we came out 10-0. Once you get motivation early, it’s easy just to keep going. They had a little run, but we stayed hot all night.”

Bozarth scored 10 of his 16 points in the first quarter and Bauer had 11 of his career-high 28 in the second.

Bauer made a pair of free throws to open the frame but added three 3s in the quarter. His final trey gave Newton a 50-26 lead at halftime.

Freshman Isaiah Slaughter came off the bench to score a career-best 16 points. Eight of those came in the second, and his two triples were part of a record-setting night from long range.

“I knew we’d find open 3s. I was more concerned about finding points inside and not settling for 3s,” Carter said. “But we got really good inside-out 3s. We found a good mix and a lot of our 3s came after getting the ball in the paint.”

Bozarth’s back-to-back buckets began a 24-point third quarter and consecutive 3s from Bauer swelled the margin to 60-33.

Creighton Andrew added a triple and Thompson and Slaughter both scored twice in the lane late in the frame.

Newton used a 9-2 run early in the fourth to kick on the 35-point continuous clock.

Bauer’s final 3 of the game ended the run and gave him the school record. His eight treys surpassed four different Cardinals — Tyler Wood in 2013, Adam Mattes in 2021, Jake Ingle in 2022 and Connor Gholson (twice) in 2017 — who hit seven in a game.

A Klein 3 started a 14-2 run that ended the game for Newton. That spurt also included a three-point play from Jonah Tibben and layups by Karter Holmes and Brody Wobschall.

Bauer finished with a career-best 28 points, and he added five rebounds and five assists. He was 8-of-12 from 3.

Bozarth chipped in 16 points, three rebounds and five assists and Slaughter put in a career-best 16 points and dished out three assists. Klein also reached double figures with 10 points and collected four rebounds and seven assists. Maki posted nine points, three assists and three steals off the bench.

“It’s crazy getting all of this attention, but all the glory goes to God,” Bauer said. “He’s provided me with great teammates, and the ability to play this game. I’m grateful we were able to play a great game today. I love seeing four guys in double figures.”

Slaughter has played in 16 games since making his varsity debut against Des Moines Hoover on January 3. He currently ranks fourth on the team with a points per game average of 5.6.

“I felt ready from the start of the season,” Slaughter said. “I try to zone everything out and stay confident. I don’t focus on making mistakes and just try to stay positive and block out the noise.

“We played great overall, shot the ball well and everyone was doing their part.”

Thompson finished with six points and five boards off the bench, while reserves Tibben and Christian Ergenbright scored three points and grabbed two boards, respectively.

Andrew totaled three points and four boards and Grant Osby pulled down a career-best six rebounds in his first career start.

The Cardinals shot 58 percent from the floor, made 16-of-30 from 3 and connected on 7-of-9 from the free-throw line. They also committed 12 turnovers against Boone’s full-court pressure.

“We knew they would run and jump and try to trap us,” Carter said. “I thought we did a really good job of breaking their pressure. When we move the ball like that, and get those set shots, our percentages go up.”

Carter was a bit surprised Boone (8-15) stuck with the full-court press despite a deficit that reached more than 20 by the end of the first quarter.

The Cardinals production included 37 field goals, which were the second most in school history. The 27 assists were four better than the previous record of 23 set against Oskaloosa back in the 2014-15 season.

“They run a 2-1-2 zone and run some man-to-man,” Carter said. “I was shocked they stayed in that as long as they did, but I’m not complaining, especially with the way we were shooting it.”

Newton improved to 12-4 against Boone since 2006. The Cardinals have won three straight and 10 of the past 11 games in the series.

Boone entered the contest with a points per game average of 60 points. Braden Brooks leads the Toreadors at 14.6 points per contest, but he did not attempt a shot until making back-to-back 3s with his team down 18 early in the second.

Brooks scored 11 of his 17 in the second, and Tyson Shivers led the Toreadors with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Jude Bumgardner also grabbed 10 boards. Boone shot just 4-of-20 from 3 but was 14-of-20 from the foul line. Newton out-rebounded Boone 36-29.

“The game plan against (Brooks) was for (Klein) to harass him and make things difficult on him,” Carter said. “(Klein) was much more physical than him. We thought it would be tough for him to get downhill against him, and (Klein) made it real tough on him. He shied away from the physicality a little bit, too.”

Notes: Pella is 2-0 against the Cardinals this season. The Dutch (17-6) won 62-57 in Newton on Dec. 20 but led by 14 after the first quarter. They also downed their rivals, 72-51, in the home matchup on Jan. 31. “We’ll have to take care of the ball, we’ll have to defend, we’ll have to protect our paint and we’re going to have to make shots,” Carter said. “It’s easier said than done.” … Pella’s six losses came against 3A No. 3 Knoxville, 2A No. 1 Western Christian, 2A No. 5 Grand View Christian, 4A Norwalk and 4A Dallas Center-Grimes, which swept the Dutch this season. Pella is 13-2 since beginning the season 4-4 in its first eight games. “They are a really good basketball team,” Carter said. “We gave up way too many points in the paint last time. We have to find a way to rebound, do our best to play our tempo, play gritty on defense and win the 50-50 balls. If we do the little things like the first time we played them, we’ll give ourselves a chance.”