Van Buren boys bounce Cardinal

EDDYVILLE - A 38-point second half led the Van Buren County boys basketball team past Cardinal in the first round of the Class 2A District 11 opening round tournament on Monday night. The Warriors sped past the Comets 73-49, winning the rubber match between the two Southeast Iowa Super Conference rivals and moving on to the district semifinals in Albia.

The Warriors led 19-12 after one quarter, 35-25 at halftime and 54-34 after three periods. The Comets didn't outscore the Warriors in any of the four quarters.

Tony Davidson had a big night for Van Buren, scoring 21 points on the night. Jackson Manning had 16. Lane Davis and Jonah Heckenberg scored 13 apiece. Wyatt Mertens had eight points, and Casey Youchum scored two.

Cardinal was co-led by Dawson Lewis and Griffin Greiner, who scored 15 points apiece. Landon Becker had seven. Blaine Bryant scored five. Jentry Arbogast had three. Ben Clark and Jerrette Greiner each scored two.

The Comets had taken a mid-January game at Van Buren in their last matchup. The Warriors took the first showdown, at Van Buren, in early December.

Van Buren moved on to play top-seeded Albia on Thursday night. That will be the second of two semifinals with Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont playing Chariton in the first. EBF defeated Davis County 58-49 in another first round matchup on Monday.