Cards prevail in 66-58 victory

It was a game of momentum swings when the Garner-Hayfield-Ventura boys hosted Bishop Garrigan (2-2, 3-3) on Tuesday, Dec. 13.  Both teams had their moments, but it was the Cardinals that prevailed with a final 66-58 victory.

“I thought the matchup was going to be interesting due to their front court depth, and it turned out to be a big challenge,” said Coach Joe Albertson.  “We really struggled keeping them off the glass and we had some breakdowns on defense.”

Scoring was balanced in the first quarter with the Cards managing a one-point lead, 10-9.

GHV started to pull ahead in the second quarter and got a nine-point lead, 25-16.  They held the lead until half-time, 27-20.

The second half opened with the Cards hitting two more baskets to go up, 31-20.  That’s when Bishop Garrigan took over.  The Golden Bears went on a 10-point unanswered run of their own and got to within one-point, 31-30.  Some key free throw shooting got the Cardinals back in the groove and they ended the third quarter with a comfortable 48-37 lead.

“We got into some foul trouble in the third quarter, but our bench came through and built a nice lead,” said Albertson.

Bishop Garrigan opened the fourth quarter with a three-point shot and a lay-up, 48-42.  With 3:02 remaining in the game, the Golden Bears were once again in the game, only trailing by two-points, 57-55.  But again, free throw shooting saved the day, as Ryan Meyers and Holden Hutcheson connected on two apiece in the final seconds of the game for the final victory.

Meyers came off the bench and pumped in 17-points to lead the Cardinals.  James Betz and Nick Joynt contributed 14 and 13 points respectively.  Chase Theobald added seven and Hutcheson chipped in six.  Meyers was a perfect six-for-six from the free throw line and Betz was six for eight.

Betz led the team under the boards with seven rebounds.  Other rebounding leaders included Logan Dalbeck with four and Johnny O’Connor grabbed three.

O’Connor led the team in assists with eight.  Hutcheson dished out three.

Joynt had four steals and Dalbeck grabbed three.  Betz had three blocked shots.

“We probably pulled out the win because the boys did a good job keeping turnovers down and hitting free throws,” said Albertson.

The Cardinals remain perfect in the Top of Iowa Conference with a 5-0 record.  They are 5-1 overall.  The team has one final game before the break on Thursday, Dec. 22, at Humboldt.