Cards split a pair of games

(Above) GHV’s James Betz is not only a shooter, but he can handle the ball as well.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

By Michelle Watson

The Garner-Hayfield-Ventura boys basketball team split a pair of games last week.  They easily handled North Iowa, but ran into a problem when they faced Forest City.

GHV 66, North Iowa 42

The Cardinals didn’t have any trouble defeating North Iowa (2-7, 2-8) in a 66-42 victory on Tuesday, Jan. 8, in the North Iowa gym.

GHV jumped to an early 9-3 lead behind the hot hands of James Betz and Landon Dalbeck.  Dalbeck connected on two free-throws to close the first quarter with a 15-8 lead.

Dalbeck was fouled while shooting a three in the second quarter and connected on all three shots from the charity stripe.  He turned around and hit a three-point shot to take a 10 point lead, 25-15.  From there, the Cardinals went on a 10-2 run to close out the first half with a 34-17 lead.

Zachary Suby, Justin Reding and Jared Graham all hit three-point shots in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 53-32 heading into the fourth quarter.  The bench was cleared with 1:34 left in the game.  The Cards closed the game with the 66-42 win.

“We came out and played very aggressive defensively, which led to forced turnovers and easy buckets,” said Coach Jake Young.

Betz and Dalbeck combined for 39 points.  Betz pumped in 21-points, while Dalbeck had 18.  Dalbeck was a perfect 5/5 from the free-throw line.  Other scoring leaders included Suby with seven-points and Reding with six.

Betz put together a double-double with 10 rebounds.  Dalbeck and Holden Larson had five and four rebounds respectively.  Reding, Brody Boehnke and Isaac Knutson all ended with three rebounds apiece.

Reding led the team in assists with four.  Dalbeck, Boehnke and Larson each dished out three assists.

Reding and Graham led the team in steals with three apiece.  Betz and Austin Bahensky had two steals each.  Betz also had two blocked shots.

“This was one of our better games sharing the ball and cleaning up on the glass,” said Young.  “We are usually successful when we win the battle in the paint and the boards.”

Forest City 64, GHV 52

Friday night was a big game in the TIC West race.  Forest City (8-2, 11-3) met the Cardinals.  Despite winning the battle in the paint, GHV just couldn’t shut down the Indians from the three-point line.  Their outside shooting helped Forest City capture a conference win.

“I was encouraged to see the guys compete defensively for four quarters, but we need to do a better job of protecting the ball and executing on both sides,” said Coach Jake Young.

The first quarter saw balanced scoring, with the Indians only managing a one-point lead, 12-11.

Forest City hit three three-point shots to start the second quarter and get a 23-13 lead.  Zach Suby hit two three-point shots of his own to keep the Cardinals in the game.  The Indians headed to the break with a 30-23 lead.

Following halftime, the Cardinals pulled to within four points, 33-29.  The good news ended there, as Forest City hit four three-point shots to take a big 50-38 lead heading into the final quarter.  The Cardinals were never able to dig themselves out of the hole they created and fell, 64-52.

Landon Dalbeck and James Betz led the team with 14 and 10 points respectively.  Brody Boehnke added eight, while Jared

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Graham, Justin Reding and Suby all had six-points.  Austin Bahensky had two-points.

Betz led the team in rebounding with six.  Graham and Reding each hauled in five rebounds and Dalbeck grabbed four.

Graham led the team in assists with six.  Betz had three steals and two blocked shots.  Suby ended the game with two steals.

“Once we get a few more things figured out, we will be a tough team to beat at the end of the season,” said Young.  “I’m looking forward to getting better in practice and playing some more quality teams in the next couple of weeks.”

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