Cardinals pay back Forest City

The Garner-Hayfield-Ventura boys picked up two more big wins in action last week, including defeating Forest City, who they are now tied with for second place in the Top of Iowa Conference.  Bishop Garrigan leads the conference with a record of 8-1, while GHV and Forest City stand at 8-2.

GHV 76, North Iowa 41

The GHV boys had no problem handing North Iowa (2-7, 2-9) a 76-41 loss on Tuesday, Jan. 9, at home.

“North Iowa gave us a good battle for three quarters the last time we played, so we knew we would have to play well to beat them,” said Coach Joe Albertson.

The Cardinals took control early. James Betz came ready to play, as he put in the first six points for GHV to take a 6-2 lead.  From there, the Cardinals went on a 12 point run and ended the first quarter up, 22-11.

GHV ended the second quarter with a 10-point run to take a 20-point lead into the half, 41-21.

The Cardinal scoring machine was in high gear for the third quarter, as they pumped in 21-points, while holding North Iowa to nine points.

The GHV bench got to see quality minutes in the fourth quarter and contributed to the 76-41 victory.

“We had eight guys with multiple assists on the night and we kept possessions alive with nine different players grabbing offensive rebounds,” said Albertson.

Three players reached double figures for the Cardinals.  Ryan Meyers led the team with 19-points.  He was 2/3 from the three-point line and 3/4 from the free throw line.  Nick Joynt and Tyler Betz scored 17 and 15 points respectively.  Colton Schroeder and Austin Bahensky each had five points, while Jared Graham, Ray Cataldo and Matthew Heinemann had four points apiece.

Betz led the team under the boards with six rebounds.  Meyers and Jonah Albertson had four rebounds apiece.

Ray Cataldo led the team in both assists and steals, with five assists and four steals.  Meyers ended with four assists and one steal.

Betz collected four blocks.

“The guys forced many turnovers, which led to many buckets, and that changed the game to our favor,” said Albertson. “This was the most inspired effort we have had since the break.”

GHV 54, Forest City 51

Revenge was sweet, but hard to come by Friday night when the Cardinals traveled to Forest City.  The Indians beat GHV earlier in the season on a buzzer beater.  Friday night’s match-up proved to be just as exciting.

Forest City’s inside game was hot in the first-quarter and the Indians managed to gain a four-point advantage, 18-14.

Colton Schroeder and Jonah Albertson hit back-to-back threes in the second quarter to give GHV the first lead of the game, 22-20. The score was knotted at 24-24 heading into the break.

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“We got behind at the start of the game, but during a timeout I could tell the boys were confident and composted despite the poor start.  Their composure showed throughout the game,” said Coach Joe Albertson.

The Indians slowly started to build a lead in the second half by sinking some serious threes to gain an 11-point lead, 46-35.  James Betz turned the tide for the Cardinals by hitting two three-point shots.  Ryan Meyers went to work next, adding seven points to recapture the lead, 48-46.  Forest City hit a bucket, followed by a three, to go up, 51-50.  Betz had a huge block that took away a breakaway layup and put the Cardinals in a position to win.  Meyers had two offensive rebound put-backs that broke the game open.  Connor Burke had the last bucket and the victory was the Cardinal’s, 54-51.

Meyers ended the night with 21-points, which included three, three-point shots.  He also had five rebounds.

Coach Albertson praised the inside play of Nick Joynt as a key factor to the Cardinals’ comeback.  Joynt ended with 14-points, six rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Betz also reached double figures with 10-points.  He had six rebounds and led the team in assists and blocked shots.  He ended with five assists and four blocked shots.

Burke, Albertson and Schroeder all had three-points apiece.  Jared Graham had three rebounds and one assist.

“Hopefully we can keep building momentum through the rest of the season,” said Albertson.

The Cardinals travel to Belmond-Klemme (0-10) on Friday, Jan. 19.  Game time is 7:30 p.m

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