MARENGO – The Braves had lost their first basketball game of the season less than 24 hours earlier.
Time to pout? No. . . they knew the sun would come up the next morning. Just in case, they may have remained awake just to be sure. In the meantime, they must have conjured up images of passes they could throw to help each other score.
Montezuma, with a stunning 23 assists on 27 made baskets (!) – beat down Iowa Valley 75-44 Tuesday night, Jan. 14.
It’s said that after a disappointment, the best cure is to be able to come right back the next day. That happens in baseball, but only sometimes in basketball.
This was one of those sometimes.
The Braves seized the opportunity from the get-go, establishing an up-tempo with defense and rebounding.
Montezuma led 25-12 after one quarter, 42-25 at the half, and 63-33 through three periods.
Trey Shearer scored 25 points and Cole Watts dropped in 21. But it was Eddie Burgess who had the double-double, and just missed a rare triple-triple.
Burgess scored 12 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, and dished eight assists in his near miss. Nevertheless, it was quite a game for him and it included five deflections and a steal.
Shearer’s 25 came on 10-for-14 shooting. He dropped in a trey, and dished seven assists.
Watt’s 21 came on seven-for-16 shooting. He dropped in four three-point baskets.
The Braves shot .519 from the field and limited the Tigers to .362 on five fewer field goal attempts. The Braves had a 29-22 lead in rebounds, and made eight turnovers to Iowa Valley’s 19.
The Braves moved to 8-1 on the season. Iowa Valley is 2-9.
UP NEXT – Weather permitting, Montezuma hosts Belle Plaine Friday night, Jan. 17. School officials already are talking about moving the games to Saturday, with the latest prediction of Snowmageddon anticipated for Friday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Montezuma 25 17 21 12 – 75
Iowa Valley 12 13 8 11 – 44
MONTEZUMA (75) – Brydon Henning 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Brayden Arendt 1-5, 0-0, 0, 2. Masin Shearer 2-5, 0-0, 1, 6. Connor Van Zee 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Cole Watts 7-16, 3-3, 1, 21. Joey Kercheval 1-2, 0-0, 0, 2. Maguire DeJong 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Trey Shearer 10-14, 4-4, 2, 25. Colton Benson 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Owen Cook 0-0, 0-0, 3, 0. Gavin Strong 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. Eddie Burgess 5-8, 2-3, 2, 12. Brody Chidester 1-1, 1-2, 0, 3. TOTALS – 27-52, 10-12, 10, 75.
IOWA VALLEY (44)
TOTALS -17-47, 6-8, 15, 44.
Line score legend: Field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Turnovers: Montezuma 8, Iowa Valley 19.
Rebounds: Montezuma 29 (Burgess 11, Arendt 5, Watts 4, T. Shearer 4, M. Shearer 3, Kercheval 1, Team 1); Iowa Valley 22.
Three-point goals: Montezuma 7-21 (Watts 4, M. Shearer 2, T. Shearer 1); Iowa Valley 9-27.
Montezuma assists: 8, T. Shearer 7, Watts 4, Arendt 2, M. Shearer 2.
Steals: Watts 3, T. Shearer 3, Arendt 2, M. Shearer 2, Cook 1, Burgess 1, Chidester 1.
Deflections: Arendt 5, Watts 5, Burgess 5, T. Shearer 3.
