GHV Cardinals top North Iowa; fall to Forest City

(Above) GHV’s Holden Hutcheson puts up a shot during Tuesday night’s home game against North Iowa.  The Cardinals topped the Bison, 54-22.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

The Garner-Hayfield-Ventura boys picked up a big win, but dropped another contest in action last week.

GHV 54, North Iowa 22

Some games it’s offense that wins it, and some games it’s the defense.  On Tuesday night, Jan. 12, it was GHV’s defense that was stellar, as they topped North Iowa (0-9, 0-10), holding them to only 22 points in the 54-22 victory.

North Iowa came out strong in the first quarter, but the wheels fell off for the remainder of the game.  The Bison were only down by three-points at the end of the first quarter, but Turner Albertson connected on a three with 0:00 time remaining to take a 15-9 first quarter lead.  Two huge runs, one of nine-points and another of 10-points, put the Cardinals up 29-12 at halftime.

“We didn’t play well at the beginning of the game and we had some lapses and turnovers,” said Coach Joe Albertson.  “However, the boys refocused and made better decisions and took over the game.”

The GHV defense held North Iowa to just 10 second half points and that was with the bench playing a majority of the fourth quarter.  With 1:50 remaining in the game, the score was 52-19, but the Bison managed a three-point shot at the end of the game for the final 54-22.

The scoring was very balanced for the Cardinals, with Johnathan O’Connor leading the way with 14-points, followed by Sam Cataldo with 10 and James Betz added nine.  Nick Joynt had seven-points.

Alex Goll led the team under the boards with six rebounds, followed by Cataldo with five and Joynt grabbed four.

Harley Forry led the team in assists with four.  O’Connor and Ben Baumgard had three assists apiece.

Joynt had three steals, while O’Connor, Betz, Payton James and Forry each had two steals.

Forest City 45, GHV 38

A slow start and foul trouble forced the Cardinals to play uphill all night, when they traveled to Forest City on Friday, Jan. 15.

“We had trouble pushing the ball and knocking down shots, but we were able to stay in the game,” said Coach Joe Albertson.

It was a tight battle in the first half.  The Indians had a 10-4 lead in the first quarter, before back-to-back threes by Harley Forry and James Betz knotted the score, 10-10.  The Indians pulled ahead slightly in the second quarter to take a 22-19 lead into the half.

“Our second half turnovers and inability to get to the free throw line led to our poor second half,” said Albertson.

The Indians stretched the lead to 30-26 by the end of the third quarter.  GHV’s intensity slipped in the fourth quarter and they trailed by 11-points with 1:15 remaining in the game, 42-31.  A few field goals and a Turner Albertson three-point connection brought the game closer, but it wasn’t enough as the Cardinals fell, 45-38.

James Betz had a good night for the Cards, collecting 12-points, six rebounds, three steals and three blocks.

Johnathan O’Connor had six-points, while Holden Hutcheson and Payton James had five apiece.

Sam Cataldo led the team in rebounds with nine.  Forry grabbed four of his own.  Albertson led the team in assists with four.  O’Connor and Cataldo had two steals apiece.  Cataldo also had three blocked shots.

The boys moved their record to 8-2, 10-3.  The Cardinals travel to Belmond-Klemme on Friday, Jan. 22.