March 28, 2024

Late shots lead CD boys past MA

Raiders have shot at end, but Cardinals hold on

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MOUNT AYR — Mount Ayr's defense contained Central Decatur's Carter Boothe for much of Thursday's Pride of Iowa Conference boys basketball game.

The Cardinals junior took over when his team needed him.

Boothe hit the go-ahead shot with 13.1 seconds left as the Cardinals held off a strong effort from Mount Ayr 43-42.

“He hits two huge leaning left-handed shots off the glass to win it for us,” said Central Decatur coach Zach Clark. “He continues to make big plays.”

Boothe scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter as the Cardinals improved to 9-2 overall.

“We’ll go where he goes,” Clark said. “He’s a pretty good guy to ride.”

Boothe’s mental approach led the Cardinals through the grind of a tough league game on the road.

“He’s just one tough dude,” Clark said. “When your best guy is your toughest guy, your team will respond to that. Those guys will do anything for him and he’ll do anything for his teammates.”

After a tough first three and a half quarters shooting, Boothe put his head down late and went to the basket.

It paid off.

“I couldn’t get any shots to fall, so I decided I needed to attack more,” Boothe said. “That helped me a lot.”

Everyone in the gym knew who would have the ball for the Cardinals on their final possession.

“We knew darn well that ball was going to him,” said Mount Ayr coach Bret Ruggles. “Those two left handed layups were unreal.”

Mount Ayr had one final opportunity. There was a tieup with 1.6 seconds to go, with the ball going to Mount Ayr.

Ruggles called out a play.

“We told them real quick to scramble,” Ruggles said. “We’ve worked on that play where they go in a circle and try to get lost. (Dawson) Frost came open and we found him.”

Dawson Frost had a good look from the right baseline, but the shot hit the front of the rim and bounced over at the buzzer.

“It’s a good look. It’s a tough shot for a young kid,” Ruggles said. “He’s 15-years-old. When it left his hand and it got above the square, I thought its going in. It misses and misses short.”

Mount Ayr constantly switched defenses in an effort to slow down Boothe and company.

The strategy worked brilliantly for Ruggles and the Raiders.

“Coming into tonight, we had to execute a game plan that we had never really done before,” Ruggles said. “We had to bring the possessions down. We had to switch defenses constantly. We were going from a man, to a zone, to a press, to a 1-3 chaser. We tried to do about everything we could to keep them analyzing and keep them thinking.”

The strategy led to long possessions for the Cardinals.

“I was thinking the more they do that, the more time they waste,” Ruggles said. “We had 32 minutes to waste and we were trying to figure out how to do that.”

Clark and the Cardinals took a deep breathe and a big sigh after surviving on the road.

“A win is a win is a win, especially on the road in January,” Clarke said.

The fourth quarter went back and fourth. There were four lead changes and three ties in the final eight minutes, with the final lead change coming on Boothe's driving bucket late.

The young Raiders team showed considerable grit and determination in hanging in with the Cardinals.

Mount Ayr's inexperience in close games showed at the end.

Thursday's loss is one the Raiders can build on going forward.

“We had a shot to win,” Ruggles said. “I’ll take that.”

The game was back and forth the entire way, with neither side grabbing a sizable lead. Mount Ayr led 9-7 after the first quarter.

The Raiders held the game's largest advantage at seven, 19-12, on a Luke Wurster 3-point basket.

Central Decatur closed back within 23-19 at halftime.

The game's slow pace continued in the third quarter.

Central Decatur edged ahead 31-28, but Myles Greene tied it a little later with a three. The game was deadlocked at 31-31 after three.

Wurster led the Raiders with 12 points. Myles Greene had 10 points, while Tristan Holmes chipped in with seven points.

UP NEXT — Central Decatur has its second date of the season with longtime rival Interstate 35 (5-4) Saturday. The Roadrunners fell to Nodaway Valley 72-71 Thursday.

“We’ll talk about some stuff and see what we can do Saturday,” Clark said.

Mount Ayr (1-11) hosts Interstate 35 Monday, weather permitting, in a game being made up from Dec. 16.

The Raiders are at East Union (8-4) on Tuesday and at Wayne Friday.

“There’s potentially two wins there, three if we can play like we this on the road,” Ruggles said. “We’ve got a shot at both of them.”