No. 8-ranked Comet boys win 9th straight
Charles City junior Jackson Molstead gets fouled while being defended by New Hampton’s Jacob Zwanzinger, left, and Alex Schumacher. Molstead would hit 10 of 12 of his free throw attempts while leading all scorers with 29 points during the No. 8-ranked Comets’ NEIC win.
By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com
CHARLES CITY — This is why the hair of coaches often goes prematurely grey.
Late in the first quarter of Tuesday’s Northeast Iowa Conference boys matchup featuring New Hampton and hosting Charles City, Comet senior Mike Cranshaw came up with a steal at midcourt and drove in to finish with a layup.
The Chickasaw bench called a timeout with 7 seconds left in the quarter, presumably to get a good last shot to quell a Comet run going in the second stanza.
But when New Hampton inbounded the ball, Comet junior Colton Slinger came up with a steal-layup combo of his own to put Charles City up 19-8 after eight minutes.
And the Comets didn’t let off the gas much after that as they went on to win 70-48 to complete a season sweep over the Chickasaws while winning their ninth straight to improve to 9-1 overall and 6-0 in the NEIC where they have sole possession of the top spot.
Junior Jackson Molstead had a season-high 29 points which included 10 of 12 shooting from the free throw line.
Comet senior Cade Hemesath, moving better than ever since recovering from a football injury, had 18 points and was even more dominant on the defensive end while thwarting New Hampton’s inside attack.
Cranshaw also attained double figures with 13 points.
Charles City recently broke into the Associated Press Top 10 Iowa Boys Basketball Poll with a No. 8-ranking in Class 3A. The team will go for it 10th straight victory on Friday when it travels to Decorah for another NEIC game.
Keagan John scored 27 points, which included six 3-pointers, to lead New Hampton (6-7, 1-6).
* In the previous girls game of the varsity double-header, the Chickasaws managed to complete a season sweep of their own with a 53-35 win over the Comets.
Consecutive inside buckets by Comet freshman Sadie Gebel tied the game at 16 after Charles City trailed 12-10 after the first quarter. But a pair of 3-pointers by Bailey Knowlton helped put New Hampton up 23-16 as the Chickasaws began to pull away.
Knowlton had 13 points, and Isabel Leichtman scored a game-high 16 for New Hampton (9-5, 4-3).
Comet junior Kara Hoffman had 11 points while hitting three of the team’s only 3-pointers — Hoffman’s other field goal during the game was a 2-pointer when it was ruled that her foot was on the line.
Jodie Sindlinger scored 10 points for the Comets (0-11, 0-9), who will host Decorah on Friday.
Girls Game
NEW HAMPTON 53, CHARLES CITY 35
Scoring By Quarters
NEW HAMPTON 12 11 16 14 — 53
CHARLES CITY 10 8 8 9 — 35
NEW HAMPTON (53)
Bailey Knowlton 13, Paige Wisner 4, Isabel Leichman 16, Kallie Olson 6, Marcy Uglum 2, Madeline Moorman 9 Alexa Wemark 3.
CHARLES CITY (35)
Danielle Stock 4, Payton Reams 4, Kara Hoffman 11, Olivia Zuspan 2, Jodie Sindlinger 10, Sadie Gebel 4.
Boys Game
CHARLES CITY 70, NEW HAMPTON 48
Scoring By Quarters
NEW HAMPTON 8 12 16 12 — 48
CHARLES CITY 19 18 19 14 — 70
NEW HAMPTON (48)
Nolan Howard 4, Keagan John 27, Jacob Zwanziger 7, Tyler Rentschler 4, Dillon Roberson 4, Noah Fenske 2.
CHARLES CITY (70)
Jack Molstead 29, Marcus Cranshaw 2, Mike Cranshaw 13, Colton Slinger 2, Noah Schlader 4, Cade Hemesath 18, Carter Klatt 2.
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