GHV boys drop two games

It was another tough week for the Garner-Hayfield/Ventura boys, as they dropped two more contests, moving their record to 4-6 in the North Iowa Conference and 7-8 overall.

Osage 71, GHV 62

The Cardinals were their own worst enemy Tuesday night when they hosted Osage.

“We knew Osage had weapons that needed to be accounted for, but we hurt ourselves tonight,” said Coach Joe Albertson.  “Losing games has had an effect on our confidence, which in turn has affected our execution.”

Osage opened the game by capturing a 14 point lead late in the first half.  The Cardinals rallied and were able to cut it to five by halftime behind Braden Meints’ aggressive play.  The Green Devils (4-5, 9-6) earned a 30-25 halftime lead.

Osage’s deep bench plagued the Cardinals throughout the second half.  Another run by GHV late in the fourth quarter closed the gap to within two.

“Joel Toppin really stepped it up in the fourth quarter to put us in a position to pull off a win, but turnovers and a failure to get stops cost us the game,” said Albertson.

The Cardinals fell, 71-62.

Meints had an outstanding game for the Cards, collecting a team-high 22 points.  He also led under the boards with 11 rebounds.  He also had three assists.

Rounding out the scoring was Toppin with 13, Jake Wolf added nine, while Holden Hutcheson and Spencer Shaw had eight points apiece.  Harley Forry had two points.

Other rebounding leaders include Wolf with seven and Shaw grabbed five rebounds.  Shaw led the team in assists with five.  Wolf, Shaw and Forry each grabbed one steal.

GHV 55, North Iowa 53

The Cardinals pulled off a close victory when they played North Iowa on Friday, Jan. 31.

“When you are struggling to win, the next game always feels like a must-win,” said Coach Joe Albertson.  “That attitude may have hurt us in the games prior, but I think the boys started the game with the intent to just play their best basketball.”

That attitude was displayed early, as the Cards picked up an eight point lead with good bench play by Jimmy Ermer and Teddy Zrostlik.  GHV took a 27-19 lead into halftime.

Spencer Shaw and Sam Cataldo helped build a 14-point lead in the third quarter, 48-37.  Unfortunately, the momentum shifted in the fourth quarter, as the Bison held the Cards scoreless for six minutes, while they added nine points.  Harley Forry came off the bench to hit a big free throw and Joel Toppin made a shot to build a 53-50 lead.  Jake Wolf knocked down two free throws for the final, 55-53.

Meints, Wolf and Shaw all hit double figures, with Meints and Wolf each finishing with 12 and Shaw putting in 10 points.  Holden Hutcheson and Joel Toppin had six points apiece.

Meints, Wolf and Toppin all had five rebounds.

Toppin led the team in assists with five.  Meints, Hutcheson and Logan Ryerson had two assists apiece.  Meints grabbed three steals, while Hutcheson had two.

Bishop Garrigan 58, GHV 45

It was another tough loss for the Cardinals when they traveled to Algona on Saturday, Feb. 1, to face Bishop Garrigan.

The teams traded baskets in the first quarter for an 11-7 Bishop Garrigan lead in the first quarter.  The Golden Bears built a seven-point lead by halftime, 26-19.

“We had trouble guarding their big guy in the first half, but did a much better job in the second half,” said Coach Joe Albertson.

GHV made some adjustments at halftime and outscored Bishop Garrigan 13-6 to knot the score at 32-32 at the end of the third quarter.  A four minute shooting dry spell by the Cardinals allowed the Golden Bears to gain an eight point advantage.  GHV resorted to pressing and fouling, but unfortunately Bishop Garrigan was able to hit their free throws and win the game, 58-45.

“We have some things to fix before we play the last three conference games,” said Albertson.

Joel Toppin led the scoring with 14 points, connecting on 4/9 from the three-point arc.  Braden Meints was the next leading scorer with 11, followed by Holden Hutcheson who added five points.  

Jake Wolf led the team under the boards with seven rebounds.  Meints grabbed five and Toppin and Logan Ryerson had three rebounds apiece.

Meints led the team in assists with three and in steals with two.  Wolf and Meints each had one blocked shot.

The team will travel to Forest City on Friday, Feb. 7.