Wolverines win District 10

TRURO – Taking momentum from the opening tip to the final buzzer, a complete group effort carried Nodaway Valley to a 57-39 win over Central Decatur, sealing its first District championship since the 2014-15 season.

Facing the athletic and deep Cardinal group, co-head coach James Larson said preparation was a major factor contributing to the win.

“I was watching film on them Monday and Tuesday night just getting ready for it,” said Larson. “I wasn’t looking past Lamoni at all, but with such a quick turnaround you’ve got to be prepared. You’ve got to be ready. I probably watched more film in the past week than I have all season.”

Knowing how pivotal Central Decatur’s Cole Pedersen and Michel Evertsen are to the flow of the game, Larson put a major emphasis on stopping the duo.

“Gameplan going in, clog up the paint,” said Larson. “We knew some of those guys were going to hit some threes, but really hold Pedersen and Evertsen to as few points as possible. I thought we did a pretty good job.”

Pedersen scored 12 points for a team-high. Evertsen entered the game averaging 14.8, finishing with five.

As Pedersen entered the game 10th in the Pride of Iowa in rebounds, the Wolverines kept him out of the lane to avoid second-chance opportunities. Nodaway Valley grabbed a collective 25 rebounds.

“I didn’t feel like he was anywhere near the boards,” said Wolverine senior Tyler Vandewater. “The ball went up, I didn’t feel like they crashed the boards a whole lot anyway, so I feel that helped us. We had bodies on whoever did, so I think that helped.”

Hot start fuels NV

Nodaway Valley opened the game hot offensively to take the momentum, bouncing back from the 15-point first half against Lamoni Tuesday.

Getting the ball to the high-post, the Wolverines were able to run the offense they wanted as the ball made its way around the key to open players. With things going Nodaway Valley’s way, it took a 9-2 lead behind a contested layup from Clay Hohertz to force a Central Decatur timeout.

Swarming Pedersen on the defensive end and having a defender close out on Evertsen, the Cardinals were forced to find other options scoring. Central Decatur didn’t find that next option as the Cardinals struggled shooting the ball early.

Tyler Vandewater, Toby Bower and Mason Menefee knocked down three consecutive threes before Pedersen responded with a layup to end the quarter down 18-9.

Bower and Menefee ended the game with 15 and 14 points, respectively.

Carrying over a strong offensive performance from Jan. 24’s 54-48 loss, Menefee feels his performance stems from having to do what he can to help the team.

“First game I had (24),” Menefee said. “I don’t know, I was just feeling it tonight too, so I’ve just got to do what I’ve got to do for my team.”

The Cardinals responded with back-to-back 3-pointers of their own before a Menefee floater in the lane extended the lead back to eight, 25-17.

Nodaway Valley ended the quarter with back-to-back threes from Bower to fuel the

Wolverine crowd and bench as they took a 33-22 lead at the half.

The second half saw major minutes off the bench for Nodaway Valley. A stingy offensive third quarter found freshman Avery Phillippi playing a crucial role in holding Central Decatur to four points in the third.

“He was big for us. Hit some big buckets for us, got some rebounds,” said Larson. “I can’t say enough about Avery for us tonight. He had a great game. If we don’t have somebody step up off the bench, we might lose that game.”

Taking a 38-26 lead into the fourth, Phillippi knocked down a shot in the Wolverines’ 6-2 run to start the quarter before Central Decatur called a timeout.

Beginning to extend possessions, second-chance opportunities became a major factor late. Phillippi and Menefee grabbed offensive rebounds to extend the possessions.

The duo paired for the Wolverines’ five offensive boards.

With time winding down on Central Decatur’s season, the Wolverines got into the bonus with 2:38 remaining and ended the game going 5-for-9 from the free-throw line.

Keeping Central Decatur at bay in pivotal points of the game, Vandewater attributes the ability to hit shots or get stops in important times as part of the unity the team has.

“I think a lot of it is our team chemistry,” said Vandewater. “I’ve played for four years, I guess a lot of sports, and I’ve never been on a team that’s this close. Any time we’re hanging out outside of basketball, or just anything, we’re all together and we’re all having fun. I think that, with karma, goes a long way.”

UP NEXT – Nodaway Valley travels to Knoxville to face Montezuma at 7 p.m. Saturday in Class 1A Substate 5. The winner earns a trip to state.

Montezuma enters the game averaging 71.7 points per game, 12th in the state. The Braves’ leading scorer, Trey Shearer, is averaging 26 points per game, paired with two other double-digit scorers – Cole Watts (18.1) and Eddie Burgess (11.4).

“They’ve got one of the best offensive players in the state,” Larson said. “He’s good, but we’ll see what we can do to help prevent that and stop that.”

Nodaway Valley 57, Central Decatur 39

CD (39) — 9 15 4 13

NV (57) — 18 15 5 19

CENTRAL DECATUR (FG FT PTS) — Totals —15 3-7 39. Cole Pedersen 5 2-5 12, Trey Hullinger 3 0-0 8, Michel Evertsen 2 0-0 5, Matthew Boothe 2 0-0 5, Tyke Hullinger 1 1-2 3, Kolby Hewlett 1 0-0 3, Hayden Leymaster 1 0-0 3. 3-point goals – 6 (Trey Hullinger 2, Evertsen, Hewlett, Leymaster, Boothe). Team fouls — 13. Fouled out — None.

NODAWAY VALLEY (FG FT PTS) — Totals — 20 10-15 57. Toby Bower 5 2-2 15, Mason Menefee 5 2-5 14, Tyler Vandewater 4 1-2 10, Clay Hohertz 1 5-6 7, Avery Phillippi 3 0-0 6, Joshua Baudler 2 0-0 5. 3-point goals — 7 (Bower 3, Menefee 2, Vandewater, Baudler). Team fouls — 11. Fouled out — None.