Indees start fast, hold on to beat Cardinals

A 17-3 run in the first half put the Independence/Gilmanton boys basketball team in control then it held off a late Eleva-Strum charge for a 68-60 win in Gilmanton.

The Indees scored the first six points of the game, but E-S battled back to make it a one-point contest at 16-15. That’s when the Indees went on a big run and took a 19-point lead into halftime.

The win put the Indees at 4-3 on the season — matching the team’s win total from the entire 2023-24 campaign. I/G played at Alma/Pepin on Friday, because of an early holiday deadline, the Times went to press before that game was played. 

After that, the Indees will be off until Jan. 2 when the team plays at Cornell.

I/G 68 Eleva-Strum 60

After the Cardinals scored to make it a one-point game, the Indees finished the first half with a 25-7 run.

A free throw by Glen Turner gave I/G some breathing room at 17-15 before Carlos Flores and Nolan Schank scored on consecutive possessions.

The Cardinals responded with a three pointer, but the Indees scored the next 12 points. Schank and Payton Hovey took turns scoring on I/G’s next four possessions with the second basket by Hovey putting the Indees ahead 29-18 with 7:10 remaining in the first half. 

Angel Mendoza got a basket off of a steal before Nery Sandoval Lopez hit a jumper that put I/G ahead 33-18.

A couple of free throws slowed the bleeding for E-S, but the Indees scored the next six including one basket by Schank and two by Lopez. 

Schank scored again just before the halftime buzzer to give the Indees a 41-22 advantage. Schank put up a career-high 32 points in the game. 

While the Cardinals surged late, the Indees were in control throughout the second half. It took a last-minute three pointer for E-S to get within 10 points. 

The Indees shot about 51 percent from the field and scored 48 points in the paint. 

Besides the 32 points from Schank, the Indees got 13 from Hovey and nine from Flores. Calvin Barneson led E-S with 18 points. 

I/G (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) — Mendoza 3/8-0/0-1-1-6 Hovey 5/11-3/8-5-0-13 Lopez 3/5-0/3-3-0-6 Parr 0/3-1/4-6-3-1 Schank 14/21-4/8-8-2-32 Turner 0/1-1/2-1-0-1 Flores 3/6-3/7-10-3-9