BELLE PLAINE – A strong fourth quarter won the game for Belle Plaine, but didn’t erase some good things achieved by the Montezuma junior high boys ‘A’ team on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
Belle Plaine won, 30-25, after outscoring the Braves 13-7 in the fourth quarter. Montezuma led 6-0 after one quarter, 14-9 at halftime and 18-17 through three.
“We got up earlier with some great looks at the basket and that carried through most of the game,” said Braves Coach John Beck. “Belle Plaine’s defense did a great job adjusting as the game went along and forced us into some shots we don’t generally want,” the coach said.
”I thought our defense was really solid in the first half,” Beck said. “Later on, we allowed them too many offensive rebounds and too many second-chance points.”
Garett Watts scored 10 points and was 2-for-3 from three-point range.
Tod Geiger scored six points and was four-10 from the free throw line.
Houston Van Roekel scored six points, including a trey, and was one-for-one from the line.
Cruz DeJong scored two and Max Anderson had one, going one-for-two from the line.
“We did a better job of taking care of the ball and playing off of two feet,” Beck said. “I would like to see us improve our decision-making after we get into the paint on drives. When we make the correct decision, we shoot a very high percentage.”
“Overall, the effort was there for a win, but the execution needs to improve.”