GHV Cardinals battle to the end with Humboldt Wildcats

by Michelle Watson

The gym was rocking in Humboldt Thursday night, Dec. 20, when the Garner-Hayfield-Ventura boys took on the Wildcats.  The two evenly matched teams who sported similar records, GHV with a 5-2 TIC record and Humboldt with a 5-3 record, fought until the very end.

The game was close in the first quarter until Humboldt went on a five-point unanswered run to take an early 16-12 lead.  The Wildcats sunk a trey at the buzzer to make it 19-13 after the first quarter.

“Humboldt came out and shot the ball very well from the perimeter and we found ourselves in a hole early,” said Coach Jake Young.

The deficit grew for the Cardinals, as they got behind by as much as eight points in the second quarter before Landon Dalbeck went on a one-man rampage, scoring 12-points and knotting the score, 29-29.  Two free throws at the end of the first half gave the Wildcats a 31-29 lead heading into the break.

The Wildcats couldn’t miss a shot from the three-point arc and stretched the lead to 10-points, 47-37 in the third. Dalbeck scored five-points, followed by a three-point shot by Jared Graham to pull to within two-points, 49-47.  Two free throws by Justin Reding tied the game 49-49 with 6:59 remaining in the game.  Back and forth scoring ensued.

The game was tied, 63-63, with :10 remaining in regulation.  Graham grabbed a defensive rebound and was fouled.  He was sent to the line where he connected on both shots, 65-63.  A key steal by Dalbeck led to another defensive foul, this time sending Reding to the line.  He also connected on both shots with :01 remaining for the final 67-63 victory.

“I was encouraged by the way the guys battled back and stuck to our game plan the entire night.  Keeping their best guard out of the paint was crucial and we did a much better job the second half,” said Young.

Despite trailing for the majority of the game, GHV’s stats were very similar to Humboldt’s.  Both teams had 11-points off turnovers.  The Cardinals had eight points off second chance points, while Humboldt cashed in on seven-points.  Free throws may have been the difference in the game, with the Cards connecting on 19/22, while Humboldt was 8/16.

Dalbeck and James Betz had tremendous games for the Cardinals.  Dalbeck led the scoring with 27-points.  Betz added 20-points and recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds.  He also had four assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Also scoring for the Cardinals was Reding with 11-points and Graham added five.  Brody Boehnke had two points and Zach Suby and Holden Larson rounded out the scoring with one point apiece.

Other rebound leaders included Dalbeck with six, Reding grabbed four, and Graham had three.

Graham led the team in assists with five.

“This game was a great final test before the break.  It was a great effort by everyone all night,” said Young.