Cardinal drops two at West Burlington, splits with Melcher-Dallas

WEST BURLINGTON - The Cardinal basketball teams played two very different games on Friday night but both games had a similar outcome, West Burlington holds home court.

The Comets weren't able to take either game from the hosting Flacons. The boys put up quite the fight in a 68-55 loss, and the girls couldn't keep pace with the once-ranked Falcon squad, falling 80-27.

The Cardinal boys put a scare into West Burlington in the first half. The Comets shot out to a big lead early and once led the Falcons by 14 points, at 25-11. West Burlington caught fire late in the second quarter, however, and stole the lead just befor ehalftime, leading 32-27.

From that point forward, West Burlington was able to build on their lead. The Falcons outscored the Comets 36-28 in the second half to end all threats of an upset.

Landon Becker scored 15 points for the Cardinal boys. Dawson Lewis put up 11 points of his own.

The girls had an uphill climb on the road against one of the best teams in the area, and it was a rough first half for the visitors.

West Burlington outscored Cardinal 28-4 in the first quarter and 26-8 in the second to take a commanding 54-12 lead into halftime. Cardinal played well in the third quarter, splitting the period 15-15 but the Comets were shut out in the fourth.

The Comets bounced back on Saturday with home games against Melcher-Dallas. The boys picked up a 75-38 nonconference road win and the girls lost in overtime.

The Cardinal boys were led by Griffin Greiner, who finished the day with 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals. Lewis had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Drake Harl had 13 points.