It wasn’t perfect – early-season performances rarely are – but 2-0 is 2-0.
New Boone Central/Newman Grove Coach Justin Harris began his Cardinal career with a pair of victories on the first weekend of the 2015-16 basketball season, picking up his first Mid-State Conference win in the process.
Harris came away pleased with the effort by his players, feeling it was a solid start to the campaign for the Cardinals.
“I’m very happy we came away with two wins this week,” Harris said. “We’re going to continue to work hard so we can be one of the top teams in C1.”
Boone Central/Newman Grove hung tough during a shaky start Friday, then dominated the final three quarters of a 59-41 victory over Mid-State foe Hartington Cedar Catholic in Albion.
HCC raced to a 17-10 lead through eight minutes of play, but Boone Central/Newman Grove’s harrassing pressure defense began to take its toll in the second period. The Cardinals forged a 21-21 halftime tie while holding HCC to four points, then steadily pulled away in the second half, outscoring the visitors 38-20.
“I thought we did a great job of not panicking and let the press work to our benefit. We didn’t get frustrated when we were missing shots early,” Harris said. “The boys played with great energy and effort all night. It was nice to play a game, as we found some things we need to improve on. ”
BC/NG scored its second straight victory Saturday at Columbus, holding off host Lakeview to prevail 58-51.
The Cardinals again had a sluggish start, but used a 20-5 second-period blitz to lead 29-18 at intermission. Lakeview responded with a 21-point third quarter to close the gap, but could not overtake BC/NG in the final period.
“We made plays when we needed to to get the win. It wasn’t pretty on either end of the floor,” Harris noted. “We have to do better in the half court defensively and finish defensive possessions. We allowed too many offensive rebounds.”
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