Cards pick up three wins; move on in District action

The Garner-Hayfield/Ventura boys put away Newman Catholic and Charles City last week and topped Saint Ansgar Monday night in a District quarterfinal game.  

GHV 65, Newman 55

The Cardinals got off to a fast start against Newman Catholic on Monday, Feb. 10, at Newman, picking up a 65-55 North Iowa Conference victory to end the conference season.

Jake Wolf put in 12 first quarter points to move the Cardinals ahead of the Knights 20-11, following the first quarter.

“Jake was all over the offensive glass and took care of business in the paint,” said Coach Joe Albertson.

Braden Meints was the second quarter man, hitting three three-point shots.  The Cardinals were able to take a 38-25 lead into the half.

Following halftime, the Knights rallied and went on a 10-point run in the third quarter and got to within six points, 49-43.

The Cardinals picked it up in the fourth quarter, behind Meints’ 10 points.

“Braden took over in the fourth quarter.  He made steals and drives to the basket.  It was a nice win to end the conference season,” said Albertson.

Meints and Wolf were the leaders in Monday night’s game.  Meints had 23 points, six rebounds, two assists and six steals.  Wolf dumped in 21 points and led the team under the boards with a whopping 16 rebounds.

Joel Toppin and Spencer Shaw were a good support team for Meints and Wolf. Toppin added 12 points, two assists and three steals.  Shaw had nine points, six assists and one steal.

GHV 52, Charles City 44

It was a big win on the road for the Cardinals when they traveled to Charles City on Thursday, Feb. 13.

“We have had trouble in the past winning in Charles City, so I was a little worried that that trend would continue unless we could get a good start to the game,” said Coach Joe Albertson.  “Fortunately, we did.”

Braden Meints helped the Cardinal cause early in the game by connecting on three three-point shots to help GHV to a 10-point first quarter lead.

It was a low scoring second quarter, with GHV scoring nine and Charles City only adding seven.  The Cardinals took a 27-19 lead into the half.

It was a good thing GHV built a solid lead in the first half, because the second half was even, with both teams scoring 25 points.  There was a long cold shooting spell in the second half, before Joel Toppin sealed the deal with seven points in the fourth quarter.

Coach Albertson also praised defensive play of Logan Ryerson.  “Logan played good defense and was very active on the boards.”

Meints and Toppin led the team with 16 and 13 points respectively.  Jake Wolf wasn’t far behind with 11 points.  Ryerson chipped in six, Spencer Shaw had four and Luke Wolf had two points.

Ryerson led the team under the boards with seven rebounds.  Jake Wolf grabbed six and Meints had five.  

Toppin led the team in assists with six.  Meints added four.  Ryerson had two steals.

GHV 79, St. Ansgar 33

Monday’s game was a big one for the Cardinals and a great one for Joel Toppin.  The Cardinals pounded St. Ansgar, 79-33, to advance in Class 2A District play.  And Joel Toppin scored over 1,000 points for his career.

GHV came out strong and never let up on the gas, as they collected 50 points in the first half and held the Saints to only 18.

The third quarter was more of the same, with the Cardinals scoring 20 and St. Ansgar, 8.  The score at the end of the third quarter was 70-26.  

The bench took over in the fourth quarter for the final 79-33.

Toppin led all scorers in the game with 20 points.  Braden Meints and Jake Wolf collected 13 and 12 points respectively and Spencer Shaw had 10.  Adam Monson and Luke Wolf had eight points apiece.  

Leading rebounders were Jake Wolf with six and Toppin and Meints each grabbed five.

Toppin, Meints and Shaw all had four assists.  Harley Forry led the team with two steals.

GHV (12-10) travels to New Hampton on Thursday, Feb. 20.