The Boone Central/Newman Grove Cardinals recorded their third victory of the young season Thursday with a runaway over visiting Central City, before suffering their initial loss of 2015-16 the following night at Mid-State Conference rival Pierce.
Overall, a solid start for a team with new players in key varsity roles and a new coach in the tough C1 classification of play.
BC/NG 81, C. City 54
It took Boone Central/Newman Grove a half to put everything together Thursday night, but when the Cardinals did, they left the Central City Bison reeling while recording an 81-54 victory.
BC/NG forged a 39-32 halftime lead with a strong finish in the second quarter, then unleashed a 23-10 blitz following intermission to turn the game into a rout.
The Cardinal defense was especially impressive in the second half, as Central City mustered just 22 total points.
Pierce 46, BC/NG 40
Friday night was a typical Cardinal/Bluejay battle, with high intensity and tenacious defense that put points at a premium.
The teams seesawed back-and-forth, with Pierce able to hold off final Cardinal efforts in a 46-40 decision.
“I love the fact that we kept battling and had an answer to the runs they made with runs of our own,” Harris commented. “I should have had us push the ball better than we did to attack Pierce in defensive transition.
“I thought we could have shared the ball better in the first half. We did an excellent job of making some adjustments and hitting cutters in the second half.
“We anticipate a rematch in the conference tournament.”
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