What we learned from the Nevada's sweep of PCM, split with Carlisle: Boys start 2-0
The Nevada boys and girls basketball teams both took down Prairie City-Monroe Friday. The boys also opened the season with a convincing win at Carlisle and the girls suffered their first loss of the season to the Wildcats Nov. 30.
The Cub boys handled Carlisle by a 72-47 score in a game marred by a punching incident by the Wildcats during the end-of-game handshake. They then rolled past PCM at Monroe, 82-56, for their first Heart of Iowa Conference win.
The girls dropped from the rankings after a 59-46 loss to Carlisle. But they rebounded with a dominant 58-20 win over PCM to improve to 3-1 on the season and start off 1-0 in the HOIC.
Here is what we learned from the boys' twin wins and the girls' split:
Cub boys are legit on offense
Nevada shot 52 % from the field against Carlisle and 49 % versus PCM. The Cub boys were 24 of 63 from 3-point range over the two games and had 42 assists on 59 field goals.
James Edwards nearly pulled off a triple-double against PCM with 21 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. He had seven points, 10 rebounds and five assists against Carlisle.
Jacob Khounsourath and Colin Memmer both had 15 points and three assists in the win over PCM. Carson Rhodes added eight points and 10 rebounds, Spencer Grant eight points and four boards and Caleb Kooiker seven points.
Khounsourath netted 15 points off the bench in the win over Carlisle. Rhodes had 13 points and nine rebounds and Ty Dittmer 12 points and seven boards.
Boys seize momentum
Nevada knew when to turn it on against both Carlisle and PCM.
The Cubs jumped all over Carlisle early and coasted to victory. They led 39-21 at the half.
A strong finish highlighted the PCM victory. The Cubs went up 53-43 and then outscored the Mustangs 29-13 over the final eight minutes.
Girls hurt by slow start against Carlisle
The Nevada girls couldn't get into a rhythm until it was too late against Carlisle. The Cubs fell behind 31-16 at the half and struggled to make up ground over the final two quarters.
Nevada outrebounded Carlisle, 32-24. But the girls committed 19 turnovers and only shot 28 % from the field.
Shelbi Hazlitt had 15 points and nine rebounds in the loss. Alexandria Arnaud scored 12 points, Tessa Borwick netted 10 and Maddie Dunham pulled down eight rebounds for Nevada.
Isabelle Noring and Katie Keeney both scored 13 points for Carlisle.
Defense dominates in win over PCM
The Nevada girls rebounded from the Carlisle loss by holding PCM to 16 % shooting. The Cubs also forced 33 Mustang turnovers.
Nevada led 26-6 at the half and was never threatened after that in picking up its first conference victory.
Dunham stepped up with 17 points and six rebounds against PCM. Hazlitt had 14 points and six boards, Bridgett Cahill nine points, Savannah Skaggs seven points, Mayzi Weig six points and Borwick six steals.
Emily Foster had six points and 12 rebounds for PCM.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Nevada boys show early explosiveness, girls suffer first loss
