Cardinals come up short in Substate Final

(Above) The Mason City High School gym was wild during the Class 2A Substate Final on Saturday night.  The GHV fans and the bench did a good job of cheering on the Cardinals against Osage.  -Reporter photos by Chris Barragy

[caption id="attachment_16045" align="alignleft" width="270"] GHV senior Harley Forry looks for an open player down the floor in Saturday night’s matchup.[/caption]

It may not have been the ending to the season they hoped for, but the Garner-Hayfield-Ventura boys basketball team can’t complain about their stellar season.  They wrapped up play in the Substate finals Saturday with a 21-5 record.

GHV 69, Southeast Valley 67

It was a night that will be remembered for years to come, when the GHV boys topped Southeast Valley (18-4) on a last second shot in the 2A District Final game played Tuesday, Feb. 23, in Humboldt.

The Cardinals fell behind by as many as seven points in the first quarter, 15-8, before three-point shots by Payton James and James Betz swung the game in the Cardinals’ favor, 17-15.

Betz sunk another three to open the second quarter, 20-15.  From there, the Jaguars went on an 11-point unanswered run to take a 26-20 lead.  Southeast Valley didn’t relent, as they outscored GHV 20-11 in the second quarter to take a 35-28 lead into the half.

“It never felt like we were in control of the game until the second half,” said Coach Joe Albertson.  “We played much more aggressively and faster in the third quarter, which made the difference.”

The momentum swung to the Cardinal’s favor in the third quarter behind Sam Cataldo, who collected seven of GHV’s 26 third quarter points.  With 2:10 remaining in the third, Payton James sunk a three and Jonathan O’Connor hit a two to knot the score, 50-50.  A three-point shot at the buzzer gave the Jaguars a one-point lead, 55-54, heading into the fourth quarter.

Betz hit his fourth three-pointer of the game and Nick Joynt sunk back-to-back field goals to take a 61-57 lead with 3:53 remaining in the game.  The Jaguars didn’t roll over.  They went on a five-point run to once again take the lead, 62-61.  Cataldo and James both hit crucial threes to take the lead, 67-64, with :42 remaining.  Southeast Valley hit a three to tie the game with :26 remaining.  At the :02 mark, Turner Albertson chucked up a three for the win, but missed.  Betz crashed the boards and tipped in the ball with :01 remaining on the clock, for the 69-67 victory.

“The boys were resilient throughout the game, and it showed in the final five seconds of the game when our key options were covered.  Our boys just made a play work,” said Albertson.

Four players hit double figures for the Cardinals.  Cataldo led the way with 18 points, followed by Betz with 16, James added 12 and Joynt put in 11.  Betz and James were both hot from behind the three-point line, each hitting four treys.  Harley Forry was 2/4 from the three-point line for six points on the night.

Cataldo led under the boards with seven rebounds, followed by Betz and Albertson with five apiece.

O’Connor led the team in assists with five and Albertson had four assists.  Joynt and Forry had two steals apiece and Cataldo recorded five blocked shots, while Betz had two blocks.

Osage 56, GHV 51

The Cardinals gave it their all on Saturday, Feb. 27, in the Class 2A Substate Finals against Osage (20-4).  After recovering from a 17-point deficit, GHV just didn’t have enough gas in the tank to finish off the Green Devils, and fell, 56-51.

“We struggled early to stop their best driver and their best shooter,” said Coach Joe Albertson.  “Osage did a great job defending, and we were out of rhythm most of the game.”

Early in the first quarter, the Cardinals rolled, taking an early 10-4 lead.  Back-to-back threes by Osage knotted the score, 10-10.  The threes continued to fall for the Green Devils and they managed a 10-point lead, 21-11.  The Cardinals closed the gap to six before halftime, 25-19.

Osage came back on fire and took a 17-point lead, 38-21, with 4:10 remaining in the third quarter.

The Cards started to battle back from there and the defense picked it up.  Sam Cataldo, who had only two points in the first half, began to find his groove.  A field goal by Cataldo and a three by Jonathan O’Connor brought the Cardinals to within one point, 42-41, with 4:15 remaining in the game.  Cataldo then sunk back-to back-shots to take the lead, 45-44.  The Green Devils connected on free throws to go up, 52-47.  Turner Albertson hit a three to again bring the score to within two, 52-50, but once again, Osage started hitting their free throws with under :30 remaining to win the game, 56-51.

“Our Cardinal Cage and fans made the difference in our comeback,” said Albertson.  “The boys forced many turnovers and made one of the best second half come backs that I have ever seen.  Even though we fell short of reaching our goal, I am proud of how well the team played this season.”

Cataldo and O’Connor led the team with 16 and 14 points respectively.  James Betz added seven.

Cataldo led under the boards with eight rebounds.  Betz pulled down six and Harley Forry grabbed four rebounds.

O’Connor led the team in assists with four and Albertson dished out three.  Cataldo, O’Connor and Payton James had two steals apiece.  Cataldo and Betz each had two blocked shots.

The Cardinals ended their season with a 21-5 record.  They will say good bye to seven seniors: Albertson, Ben Baumgard, Cataldo, Forry, Alek Goll, James and Trevor Kluver.