Central Decatur boys top NV 81-55

The first boys basketball game back after Christmas did not go the way Nodaway Valley hoped.

The Wolverines took an 81-55 loss at Central Decatur Friday, Jan. 3. The loss dropped Nodaway Valley to 0-8 overall and 0-6 in the Pride of Iowa Conference.

One goal of the work the Wolverines did over the holiday break was to simplify things. As one of the POI teams that averaged just over 30 points a game, the Wolverine coaches knew they had to work on offense over break.

“We (coaches) realized that what we were doing in the first half was causing the guys to over think things. We spent a lot of time working on our offense over break. So we simplified things over break and we are excited to see how things go the first weeks after break,” said Nodaway Valley head coach Mick Long.

The Wolverines accomplished some of that, scoring a season high 55 points in topping the 50-point mark for the second time in eight games this year. Nodaway Valley also set a new season high point total scored for the opening quarter with 17 and a new high for points scored in the second half of a game with 29.

The Wolverines trailed by nine after the first quarter, 26-17. A 15-9 Central Decatur run in the second gave the Cardinals a 41-26 lead at halftime. In the second half, the Cardinals exploded for 28 points in the third to take control of the game. Trailing 69-31, the Wolverines outscored Central Decatur 16-12 in the final quarter.

The Cardinals relied heavily on their starting five players for scoring in the game with four reaching double figures in the game. Paxon Applegate had a season high 25 points while adding 8 rebounds. Asher Norman scored 22 points and had 8 rebounds while Nash Dykes scored 18, and Blake Boyd 13.

Paul Berg led Nodaway Valley with 19 points while Titus Hamer was on the brink of double-digit scoring with nine.

The two teams will play again in Greenfield on February 7.