The North Butler basketball teams pounced to an early lead and never trailed against Northwood-Kensett to bring home a pair of Top of Iowa Conference East wins on Tuesday, as aired 104.9 KLMJ.
The North Butler girls won 47-29. The Bearcats controlled the pace through full court press in the first quarter, which allowed the Bearcats to take a 12-2 lead by the quarters end. Aided by the post presence of Eden Wix, the Bearcats outscored the Vikings 15-10 in the second quarter to take a 27-12 lead into the break. The Bearcats defense shutdown limited the Vikings to three points in the third quarter to increase their advantage to 34-15. The Bearcats never led by less than 18 to close things out in the final frame. Head Coach Jordan Nolz says they had a great start but need to maintain it.
“It feels good to be 2-0. We started out the first quarter and we had four sets we were going to right off the rip. We executed a couple of them pretty well that gave us some buckets. We played defense really strongly and eliminated any second chance points. The start was really good,” says Nolz. “We tended to fall between quarters at certain times, playing at a pace that wasn’t ours and a tempo that wasn’t ours. We have to work on that.”
Eden Wix delivered 24 points and Izzy O’Dowd added 10 points to lead the Bearcats.
The North Butler boys set the tone early in a 52-28 win, reeling off a 12-0 run in the first quarter and dominating the paint from the start. The Bearcats limited Northwood-Kensett to five points in the opening period before ramping up their pressure in the second to build a 28-9 halftime advantage. North Butler continued to force perimeter shots and create scoring inside after the break. Head coach Austin Guerrero said he was pleased with how his team carried its preseason focus into game night.
“I was really happy to see our effort. I thought our effort level matched the intensity we talked about all week leading into this game. It’s a long first couple of weeks of the season. You’re waiting and chomping at the bit to get your first live action,” says Guerrero. “I knew we’d come out and play hard. I just didn’t know if we were as fine tuned as we needed to be on the defensive side. We came out and we did play Bearcat defense how we want to. That helped lead into our transition offense.”
Wrigley Endelman led with 19 points, and Jarrett Shear added 16 to lead the Bearcats.
The North Butler girls (2-0) and the Bearcat boys (1-0) will host Newman Catholic on Friday.
