February 04, 2026
Local NewsState & National

BOYS BB: NV drops three last week

Wolverines looked to get back on track Tuesday against East Union

By Ryan Stonebraker
Wolverine senior Jacob Fry battles through traffic for a contested jump shot last Tuesday night against Earlham.

Wolverine senior Jacob Fry battles through traffic for a contested jump shot last Tuesday night against Earlham. (Dan Dickinson)

With the calendar flipping to February, the high school boys basketball season is quickly winding down.

The Nodaway Valley boys carry a 3-15 record into the final 12 days of the regular season after losses last week to Southwest Valley, Martensdale-St. Marys and Earlham.

The Wolverines were scheduled to play their final Pride of Iowa Conference home game Tuesday against East Union. Their last league contest comes Friday, when NV travels to Leon to face Central Decatur.

Next week, the Wolverines close the regular season with nonconference games Tuesday, Feb. 10, at CAM and Thursday, Feb. 12, at Interstate 35.

Last week opened with a third straight home game, this time against Southwest Valley. The Wolverines fell 73-41 to the Timberwolves, who are co-leaders of the conference with Mount Ayr. Nodaway Valley trailed 38-22 at halftime before Southwest Valley seized control with a 24-10 run in the third quarter.

Ty Rardin led the Wolverines with 11 points, while Titus Hamer added 10.

Four Southwest Valley players reached double figures. Wyatt Mendenhall posted 24 points and eight steals, Cael Hogan had 17 points, seven assists and five steals, Casey Jones scored 14 points and Walker Bissell added 10.

For the final time before Martensdale-St. Marys departs for the West Central Activities Conference, Nodaway Valley visited the Blue Devils’ home gym — a notoriously difficult place to play. Unlike the teams’ first meeting, which went to overtime, this contest was controlled by the hosts.

Martensdale-St. Marys led 19-8 after the first quarter and extended the margin to 31-15 at halftime. A 19-9 third-quarter run pushed the lead to 20. The Wolverines mounted a scoring push in the fourth quarter but could not close the gap.

Hamer scored 12 points and Jack Berg added 11 for Nodaway Valley. Colton Wight led the Blue Devils with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Jack Gavin finished with 18 points.

Earlham defeated Nodaway Valley 65-52 on Saturday night in Greenfield. The Wolverines were competitive throughout, leading 14-13 after the first quarter, trailing by one at halftime and down just four entering the fourth.

Earlham sealed the win with a 16-7 run in the final period. The Cardinals connected on 11 3-pointers and went 12 of 16 from the free throw line. Griffin Messer led Earlham with 23 points, while Hayden Ealy scored 20 — well above his season average — on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc.

Berg scored 20 points to lead Nodaway Valley, and Parker Schneider added 10 in the loss.