Continuing the trend of a topsy-turvy basketball season, the Boone Central/Newman Grove Cardinals were defeated on the road by Stanton Friday night, then battled back to defeat Mid-State Conference foe Guardian Angels Central Catholic Saturday at Newman Grove.
The Cardinals have been consistently inconsistent during the 2014-15 campaign.
“Finding consistency on offense has been a priority since we came back from the holiday tournament,” noted BC/NG Coach Dan Zoucha. “Just about the time we think we’re turning the corner, we take a couple of steps back.”
Stanton took advantage of that inconsistency to snatch a 59-49 win over BC/NG.
Despite a sluggish first half offensively, the Cardinals were solid on the defensive end and trailed by just two points, 25-23, at intermission. BC/NG then took a 30-27 lead in the third period before Stanton’s Sperl sank three straight three-point shots.
BC/NG could not answer and the Mustangs used the momentum to extend their advantage, and sealed the decision with a 19-point fourth quarter during which they hit 11-of-16 free throws.
Boone Central/Newman Grove came out hitting on all cylinders Saturday in a pseudo home-court contest at Newman Grove and held off Guardian Angels Central Catholic to earn a 61-53 conference victory.
With GACC opening in a zone defense, the Cardinals moved the ball efficiently, hit outside jump shots – three-pointers by Kyle Kramer (2), Scott Ketteler and Keaton Henry – and established an interior game – eight points from Garrett Temme – while building a 36-21 halftime lead.
When the Bluejays switched to full-court man-to-man pressure late in the first half, BC/NG stumbled, however. After leading 35-15 with just over three minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Cardinals tallied just 26 more points in the remainder of the game.
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