Cardinals on a roll

It was a good week of basketball for the Garner-Hayfield/Ventura boys, as they picked up two more wins.  The Cardinals moved their record to 15-4 overall and 10-3 in the North Iowa Conference.  G-H/V is currently tied atop the NIC with North Iowa.

G-H/V 57, Lake Mills 43

A good night of shooting proved to be the Cardinals’ winning attribute on Tuesday, Jan. 29.  Hot hands by G-H/V helped them gain a 57-43 advantage over Lake Mills.

“After seeing how well Lake Mills had played in recent weeks, I thought we were going to have to play well to beat them,” said Coach Joe Albertson.  “It looked like we were ready.”

The Cardinals opened up an early nine point lead, but the Bulldogs hung in there.  By halftime, Lake Mills had a one point advantage, 27-26.

Baskets were traded in the third quarter, but the Cards dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs, 17-6.

“I liked how we defended and rebounded.  In the fourth quarter the guys did a great job getting to the line and knocking down the shots,” said Albertson.

Joel Toppin and Zach Buseman led the Cardinal offensive effort with 17 and 14 points respectively.  Braden Meints added nine points and Spencer Shaw had seven.

Austin Kropp led the team under the boards with a team-high eight rebounds.  Buseman and Meints each had five, while Jake Wolf and Heath Hutcheson pulled down four.

Shaw led the team in assists with five and Meints dished out four assists.  Both Toppin and Meints had two steals apiece.

G-H/V 49, Forest City 47

According to Coach Joe Albertson, Friday night’s contest with Forest City was the most entertaining game of the season.  With both teams matching each others’ baskets, the game came down to the wire.

Forest City had come off a big win against North Iowa and Osage prior to the game, so Coach Albertson knew his team would have to bring their game.

“From the start it looked like our guys were bringing the intensity we needed to have to compete with them,” said Albertson.

G-H/V picked up a first quarter lead, 14-10.  Forest City returned the favor in the second quarter and managed a one-point lead by half, 22-21.

It was back and forth scoring in the third quarter with each team managing 10 points.  G-H/V played some tough defense, causing Forest City a couple of empty possessions in the fourth quarter.  The game was knotted when Zach Buseman hit a big three, the Cards picked up a steal and Buseman hit a jumper from the top of the key, giving G-H/V a five point lead with less than a minute to play.  The five-point lead gave the Cardinals just enough cushion, winning the game 49-47.

Coach Albertson also credited some clutch free throw shooting from Heath Hutcheson, Joel Toppin and Austin Kropp for sealing - Read More Via e-Edition