SANTA ROSA - A game of runs turned heavily in Cardinal Newman's favor during a third-quarter burst, which ultimately propelled the Cardinals to the 63-58 win over Santa Rosa on Wednesday night.
Despite starting the night in a big hole, Santa Rosa actually held a halftime lead, and trailed by just one point after a three-point play by Andre Gaudreau cut the Newman lead to 37-36. But the Cardinals responded by scoring the next 12 points, capped by a Mason Friesh field goal.
The Panthers later closed within three points again, 54-51, after back-to-back three-pointers by Grant Goodwin, but Friesh stemmed the tide with another three points and the Cardinals were able to hang on for the win.
Cardinal Newman opened the game on a 15-2 run, including the first 10 points of the game, but Santa Rosa scored the final eight points of the first quarter to get back within five points. Jalen Prince had five straight points during the closing burst.
Late in the second quarter, Goodwin hit three straight shots from beyond the arc, a run which put the Panthers ahead 26-21 at the time. Trevor Smith's basket before the half cut the Cardinals' deficit to three points, 29-26.
Allen Baker scored the first basket of the third quarter for Santa Rosa, making it a five-point lead again, but Cardinal Newman scored the next 10 points, with Smith contributing eight of those 10 points.
Friesh led the Cardinals with 19 points during the win, while Smith added 13 points and Chauncey Leberthon had 11 points. Hayden Johnson chipped in seven points for Cardinal Newman, which remained unbeaten in NBL-Oak play.
Santa Rosa was led by the hot-shooting Goodwin, who scored a game-high 24 points, including six three-pointers. Prince added 14 points for the Panthers, while Gaudreau had nine points in the loss.
