Cards top FC; lose one by a buzzer shot

The Garner-Hayfield-Ventura boys basketball team opened the 2016-17 season.  The Cards played three Top of Iowa Conference opponents, winning two and dropping a close one.

GHV 69, North Iowa 56

The Cardinals were able to overcome some early nerves on their way to a 69-56 victory over North Iowa on Tuesday, Nov. 29.

GHV jumped to an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter.  The Bison fought back and closed the gap to within four, 13-9, by the end of the first quarter.  North Iowa hit a three-point shot and knotted the score 13-13.  From there, it was back-to-back scoring, until GHV went on a 10-point run and led, 29-23 by halftime.

Whatever adjustments the Cardinals made at halftime obviously worked, as GHV outscored the Bison 22-7 in the third quarter, 51-30.  The subs started coming in with 6:04 remaining in the game.  The Indians had a good fourth quarter, outscoring the Cardinals, 26-18, but the hole was way too deep, as GHV claimed the 69-56 victory.

“Our nerves got the best of us early one and tried to do too much to make plays, but the boys got into a groove in the third quarter,” said Coach Joe Albertson.

Four players scored in double digits for the Cards.  Nick Joynt led the onslaught with 16 points, followed by James Betz with 13, Logan Dalbeck with 12 and Chase Theobald with 11.

Joynt and Betz led under the basket with six rebounds apiece, followed by Ryan Meyers and Jared Graham with five boards apiece.

Meyers had a good game with four assists, three steals and two blocked shots.  Holden Hutcheson, Graham and Connor Burke each had three assists.  Theobald was quick on his feet, collecting three steals.  Betz had two blocked shots.

Coach Albertson praised the play of Theobald and Dalbeck for how well they ran the floor and got to the rim.

GHV 43, Forest City 36

The road was a tough one Friday night, but the Cardinals persevered and pulled out a hard-fought 43-36 victory over Forest City (1-1, 1-1).

A flat Cardinal team had a hard time getting it going in the first quarter.  The Indians held them to just two first quarter points, while they scored nine.  Some baskets finally started to fall for the Cards in the second quarter.  A three-point shot by Holden Hutcheson and a basket by Ryan Meyers gave GHV a one-point advantage at the half, 12-11.

“We have possibly never had a worse start to a game in 10 years,” said Coach Joe Albertson.  “We were forcing passes and shots and playing without poise in the first quarter.  Thank goodness we play four quarters.”

The Cards sunk three baskets in a row to open the second half, 18-11, but the Indians answered that with two, three-point shots and the battle was on.  It was a four point ball game at the end of the third quarter, with GHV leading, 27-23.  The Cards still held only a four point lead with 1:02 remaining in the game.  Hutcheson and Logan Dalbeck each connected on a basket, 41-33, to put the game out of reach.  Hutcheson connected on two free throws to end the game and give the Cards the final 43-36 win.

The win wasn’t a pretty one, but the Cards pulled it off, despite two of their starters getting into foul trouble.  Sophomore James Betz fouled out and failed to score in the game and Johnny O’Connor sat for large stretches of time.

Nick Joynt and Hutcheson had to carry the team.  The two had 14 and 12 points respectively.  Joynt also hauled in seven rebounds and had

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three assists.  Hutcheson had six rebounds.  Ryan Meyers also picked up some of the slack with six points, five rebounds and four assists.

Although he didn’t score, Betz did pull down six rebounds, had five steals and two assists and two blocked shots.

Osage 54, GHV 52

Coach Joe Albertson was hoping his team could do something they haven’t done yet this year - - get off to a good start on Saturday, Dec. 3, when they hosted Osage (3-0).

Behind the hot hand of Ryan Meyers, the team held an early 16-3 lead after the first quarter.  By halftime the Cards still held the advantage, 29-24.

“We played our best basketball of the year in the first half,” said Albertson.  “However, we struggled with some defensive switches in the third and fourth quarters, and Osage made us pay.”

Following the half, the Green Devils scored seven points quickly to close the gap, 31-28.  With 2:32 remaining in the third quarter, Osage tied the game, 33-33, and took the first lead of the game following two, three-point shots to end the third quarter with a 39-36 lead.

The Green Devils capitalized on Card errors and continued to stretch the lead, 50-41, before GHV got their game going again.  Nick Joynt connected on some key free throws and a two-point shot to knot the score at 50-50 with :39 remaining.  Johnny O’Connor also sunk some key free throws to go up 52-51 with :12 remaining.  A three-point shot at the buzzer gave the Green Devils the two point victory, 54-52.

“Osage got enough space to hit a shot at the buzzer to spoil our best effort of the season,” said Albertson.  “We have a lot of work to do to become the team we want to become.”

Joynt and James Betz led the team with 15 and 10 points respectively.  O’Connor wasn’t far behind with nine points.

Joynt and Betz also led in rebounds with five apiece.  Meyers and Holden Hutcheson each had three.

Meyers led the team in assists with four, while O’Connor dished out there.  Joynt led the team in steals with four.  Betz had two blocked shots.

The team travels to Belmond on Friday for a 7:45 p.m. game.

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