GHV bounces back from FC loss to defeat Belmond-Klemme, North Iowa

The GHV boys kept themselves in the hunt for a North Iowa Conference title, winning two of three contests during the past week.  The Cards dropped a match-up with league leading and ninth ranked (2A) Forest City, but topped Belmond-Klemme and North Iowa to improve to 12-4 overall and 11-4 in the NIC.  

Forest City 60, GHV 44

Coach Joe Albertson said he saw a lot of good things in his teams’ performance against a quality Forest City team Tuesday, Jan. 20.  Despite a 60-44 loss, Albertson said he sees improvement as the Cards head toward tournament time.

“We did a lot of good things throughout the game.  I liked how our guys battled back from getting behind early in the first half.  We are showing signs of being a good team, but we need to cut down our turnovers and play more disciplined on defense,” said Albertson.

The Cards were down 16-10 after the first quarter, but cut the margin to just two points by halftime, 26-24.  No more than three points separated the two teams in the third quarter until the final two minutes of the quarter when the Indians used free throws to pull ahead, 40-36.  After two missed shots by the Cards, Forest City drained a fieldgoal and ended the third period ahead, 42-36.  

Forest City pulled away inside the five-minute mark, helped by Card turnovers and made free throws.  The Indians scored 15 points off turnovers in the game, compared to just three for GHV.

Sam Cataldo had a huge night, finishing with 19 points and 12 rebounds.  The remainder of the Cards’ scoring was spread out among Payton James with seven, Jonathan O’Connor and Harley Forry each with five, and Holden Hutcheson and Turner Albertson each scoring three.  Logan Ryerson added two points.

GHV 62, B-K 55

The Cards bounced back with a good game against Belmond-Klemme Friday, Jan. 23.  GHV got off to a fast 15-8 first quarter start and earned a 62-55 win.

“It was good to see our guys pushed to the limit and come out on top,” said Coach Albertson, whose team was outscored in the second and third quarters.  However, the fourth quarter was all Cardinals.  They outscored the Broncos 21-13 on their way to the victory.  

“Holden Hutcheson was decisive on the offensive end and hit a key shot to put us ahead for good in the fourth quarter,” noted Albertson.  Hutcheson finished with 12 points, two assists and four rebounds.

The coach also said he liked how the team shared the ball, got up the floor in transition, and cut down on turnovers.  That was reflected in the stats.  Sam Cataldo and Payton James joined Hutcheson in double figures scoring with 22 and 11 points respectively.  Cataldo ruled the boards, grabbing a team-high 13 rebounds. He also had four steals.  

The Cards generated 21 points off turnovers, compared to 11 for the Broncos.

Logan Ryerson put in eight points for GHV.  Jonathan O’Connor scored five and Harley Forry had four points.

GHV 75, North Iowa 42

A total team effort was the perfect way to end a busy week.  Eleven players scored in GHV’s 75-42 rout of North Iowa, Buffalo Center Saturday, Jan. 24.

“All of our players made a difference in our win.  We played with very good energy.  Guys were getting out and running the floor,” said Coach Albertson. 

Harley Forry hit three first half three pointers to get his team going.  The effort led the way to a 19-7 first quarter lead and sparked a 25 point performance in the second quarter. The Cards went into halftime up, 44-21.

The cushion provided the opportunity for the coach to use all his players.  The players kept the pressure on North Iowa, holding them to just nine points in the third  quarter.  Meanwhile, 10 different GHV players were able to get to the free throw line.  

Four Cardinals finished in double figures.  Sam Cataldo and Holden Hutcheson finished with 14 points apiece.  Forry had 13 points and Payton James put in 12 points.  

Jonathan O’Connor had six points in the game and a team-high three steals.  Kevin Boehnke and Jack Bertilson scored five and four points respectively.  Brandon Ross, J.J. Loeschen and Turner Albertson each scored two points and Ben Baumgard added one.

Cataldo dominated the boards with 10 rebounds.

“We need to play at a high level to win games in the next three weeks,” said Coach Albertson, looking ahead to meetings with North Union (6-8), Bishop Garrigan  (9-6) and Osage (8-8).  The Garrigan game will be at home on Friday, Jan. 30.