Cards fold against Eagles and Broncos

It was a disappointing week for the Garner-Hayfield/Ventura boys, as they dropped two games, moving their record to 4-5, 7-7.

West Hancock 69, GHV 60

The Cardinals traveled to West Hancock on Tuesday, Jan. 21 to face the Eagles (4-4, 8-5).

The two teams proved to be closely matched in the first minutes of play, but West Hancock soon took control and went on a 10 point run, ending the first quarter with a 19-8 lead.

GHV fired back in the second quarter behind the hot hand of Braden Meints, who connected on three three-point shots to close the gap to four, 38-34.

The second half saw more balanced scoring, but the Eagles hung on for the final 69-60 victory.

“We did not get off to a good start, and it seemed to put us in a panic,” said Coach Joe Albertson.  “Early foul trouble changed what we wanted to do offensively and defensively.”

Four players scored in double figures for the Cardinals.  Meints led the team with 17 points.  He was 5-10 from the three-point line.  Joel Toppin scored 14 points, followed closely by Holden Hutcheson with 12 and Spencer Shaw with 10.

Jake Wolf led the defense with nine rebounds.  Hutcheson had seven rebounds and Meints, Toppin and Logan Ryerson each had five.  

Shaw and Ryerson led the team in assists with five and four respectively.

“Holden Hutcheson was one of the few bright spots in the game.  I was expecting us to play with better energy and more poise, but we were just not ready to win,” said Albertson.

B-K 54, GHV 53

Friday night’s game at home was a heartbreaker for the Cardinals.  They dropped a one-point contest to Belmond-Klemme, 54-53.

The Broncos (6-2, 9-3) jumped to an early 10-2 lead and stretched that to 16-6 before the Cardinals went on a seven point run behind Jake Wolf, who came off the bench with seven points and solid post defense.  BK took a 27-21 lead into the half.

“Our confidence was tested in the first quarter,” said Coach Joe Albertson.  “We struggled to put the ball in the hoop.”

GHV kept chipping away at the Bronco lead and got to within three, 52-49, in the final minutes of the game.  A key steal by Logan Ryerson and a charge taken by Harley Forry put the Cardinals in a position to grab the lead.  Joel Toppin hit a big shot to take a one point lead, and that is where the game should have ended, but B-K had just enough time to get off one more shot and capture the 54-53 win.

“Even though we couldn’t close the deal, the guys did a great job battling to a spot where they could win the the game,” said Albertson.

Toppin led the team with 18 points.  Braden Meints and Wolf also hit double figures with 10 points each.

Meints led the team under the boards with nine rebounds.  He also led the team with five assists, one steal and two blocked shots.

The Cardinals are on the road Friday and Saturday, with games at North Iowa and Bishop Garrigan.