The Newton boys and girls basketball teams split Little Hawkeye Conference road games at Oskaloosa Friday night as heard live on the KRLS3 stream, with the Oskaloosa boys winning 52-40 and the Newton girls prevailing 32-15,

The Cardinal boys led 9-8 at the end of the first quarter. But a 15-point run that began with about six minutes left in the second quarter led to a 23-12 halftime lead for the Indians. Oskaloosa would only outscore Newton 29 to 28 the rest of the game. Head coach Jason Carter says the team’s second quarter scoring drought was costly.

“We couldn’t get anything to go through the hoop. I felt we got some really good looks. We missed a few wide-open threes and got the ball around the rim and didn’t finish. We missed four free throws in the second quarter as well.”

Dawson Maki led the Cardinals with 15 points. The Newton boys are now 3-6 overall and 0-4 in the Little Hawkeye Conference. 

The Cardinal girls improved to 6-4 on the season and 2-3 in conference play behind Addyson Cibula’s 14-points and another strong defensive effort. Oskaloosa scored four points in the first quarter, five in the second, two points in the third, and four in the fourth quarter. Head coach Jake Bennett said the defense won the game.

“I thought we did a phenomenal job on that end. That’s probably why we got the win tonight.”

The Newton boys and girls basketball teams will play their fourth straight road game at Norwalk on Tuesday night.