The Newton basketball teams began their second run through Little Hawkeye Conference play at home Friday night against Indianola, and split the twin bill heard live on the KRLS3 stream. The Cardinal boys picked up a close 46-40 win, while the girls fell to the Indians 40-28.

The Newton Boys led for a majority of the first half, taking a 33-30 halftime lead, before Indianola came back to tie the score at 38-38 at the end of the third quarter. Neither team scored during the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Cardinals finished the period on an 8-2 run to pull away for the victory. Caden Klein got Newton off to a good start, scoring 14 of his game-high 16 points in the first half. Cardinals head coach Jason Carter was glad to see Klein playing aggressive on the offensive end of the floor.

“I was really excited to see him gain some confidence at the offensive end. I thought it started with him attacking the rim and finishing it up at a level most guys can’t get up too. When Caden really attacks, he’s a tough guard.”

Landon Bozarth was the only other Newton player in double figures with 15 points, nine of which came in the second half. The Newton boys are now 8-5 on the season and 3-4 in the conference. 

The Cardinal girls played good defense, but struggled shooting the ball. Newton held Indianola to just 16 first half points, but mustered only 11 of their own to fall behind at the intermission. The Indians slightly grew their advantage to 25-16 at the end of the third quarter, and the Cardinals were unable to close the gap in the 12-point loss. Newton head coach Jake Bennett said that while it was frustrating not getting shots to fall, he believes the offense will come back around.

“We have to have our shooters know we have full confidence in them still even though the shots aren’t falling at the moment. We have absolute confidence they will at some point.”

Tori White led Newton in scoring with seven points, while Alex Riney added five. The Cardinal girls are now 8-6 overall and 2-5 against conference opponents. 

The Newton girls and boys basketball teams will host Dallas Center-Grimes in a conference doubleheader Tuesday.