Cardinals rack up two more wins

It was a one-two punch for the Garner-Hayfield/Ventura boys basketball team as they picked up two wins following the holiday break.

G-H/V 51-Lake Mills 39

A big first quarter helped the Cardinals garner a victory over Lake Mills at home on Friday, Jan. 4.

It took G-H/V a few minutes to find their game legs, 

but once they got into the zone they were able to open up an early nine point first quarter lead, 13-4. Heath Hutcheson had a hot hand and Zach Buseman came off the bench to lend a scoring punch enabling the Cardinals to take a 26-16 lead into the half.

G-H/V was able to get up by 15 points in the third quarter, but missed free throws and a Lake Mills surge, shrunk the lead to seven with three minutes remaining in the game.  Some strong rebounding by Austin Kropp and three late fourth quarter steals by Spencer Shaw, Braden Meints and Alex Van Gerpen led to buckets and free throws that sealed the 51-39 victory.

“It is hard to keep a routine and simulate a real game over break, so it is expected that the first game back is not a work of art,” said Coach Joe Albertson.  “But we got on track.”

Buseman and Hutcheson led the team with 11 points apiece.  Kropp contributed eight points, while Meints and Joel Toppin both had seven.  Rounding out the scoring was Van Gerpen with three and Shaw and Jake Wolf with two points apiece.

Kropp and Wolf led the team in rebounds with eight and seven respectively.  Meints grabbed two steals and Wolf had two blocked shots.

G-H/V 57, Algona 46

G-H/V’s win over Algona on Saturday, Jan. 5, was a team effort, but one player really picked it up.  Joel Toppin scored - Read More Via e-Edition