Cardinals primed for post-season

The Garner-Hayfield-Ventura boys finished the regular season with a win over Eagle Grove.  The team ended the regular season by finishing second in the Top of Iowa West Division Conference with a record of 14-2.  West Hancock was the conference leader with a record of 15-1.

The Cardinals faced Eagle Grove on Monday night in the opening game of Class 2A, District 3 competition.  GHV pounded the Eagles, 81-26, and they will now travel to face No. 10 Pocahontas Area in a District semifinal game on Thursday, Feb. 18, in Laurens, at 6:30 p.m.  The winner of that game will play on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m., in Humboldt.  Details of those post-season games will appear in next week’s Mirror-Reporter.

GHV 80, Eagle Grove 46

Despite a slow start, the Cardinals managed a big win over Eagle Grove (4-12, 5-16) in their last regular season game on Thursday, Feb. 11.

The first quarter was a slow one for the Cards.  The score was knotted 10-10 at the end of the first quarter.  The second quarter was a different story, as GHV found their groove and outscored the Eagles 24-9.  Behind Sam Cataldo’s 10-point effort, they headed to the locker room at halftime with a 34-19 lead.

Chase Theobald sunk a three-pointer at the end of the third quarter for a 59-31 lead.  The bench took over in the fourth quarter as the Cardinals cruised to a 80-46 victory.

“The underclassmen came off the bench and played well and helped our seniors add another win to their resume,” said Coach Joe Albertson.

Cataldo had a strong night, finishing with 25 points and 14 rebounds.  He also had two blocked shots.

Theobald came off the bench and had a strong game with 12 points, two assists, one steal, two blocked shots and one rebound.

Other leading scorers included Nick Joynt with 12-points, James Betz added seven and Ben Baumgard contributed five points.

Baumgard and Alek Goll each had five rebounds.

Payton James led the team in assists with five, followed by Baumgard with four.

The Garner-Hayfield-Ventura boys basketball team wrapped up a very successful 2015-16 regular season by finishing second in the Top of Iowa West Division Conference with a record of 14-2.  They were 18-3 overall.  West Hancock was the conference leader with a record of 15-1, 19-2.

“Now it’s time to get back in the gym and prepare to be our best for the tournament,” said Albertson.