PLEASANTVILLE – Braves Coach Derrick Dengler quickly knew that beating Baxter would be like pushing boulders up a hill.
First clue: Four-for-four from the field to start the game at 10-0 for the Bolts. First time-out by Dengler.
The Baxter run extended to a 17-0 lead. All five Baxter starters had scored. They had taken seven shots, including a pair of treys. All connected.
Pretty soon, it was 26-6 and time for time-out number two.
Midway through the second quarter it was 43-21. Time-out number three. By now, the Montezuma coach perhaps was running out of things to say.
Maybe he said, “Get to Masin.”
Senior guard Masin Shearer hit a trey out of the time-out, put the team on his back, and carried it into a suddenly-joined battle.
Shearer’s final game in high school was his most prolific – 39 points, including seven three-pointers, as the Braves got to within four points at 66-62 with 6 minutes left. Shearer reached 1,000 points for his career in his final game.
“Yeah, too much from Baxter at the beginning of the game,” said Braves Coach Derrick Dengler. “Credit to them for their shooting and their energy.”
“I was proud of our boys battling and keeping it up,” Dengler said. “Getting it down to 4 was a testament to their effort.”
Baxter won this district semifinal, 82-69. The Bolts had guys tall and angular and tall and wide, who could score the basketball. They had a superb athlete at guard in Cody Dammon who could distribute the basketball. They did those things often enough to put down spirited charges by the Braves and their raucous crowd.
The Bolts sealed the deal by making 7 of 8 free throws over the last 1:38, to ensure it wouldn’t be a happy western cavalry ending for the Braves.
Travis Treyton, a 6-1 senior, scored 25 points for the Bolts. Carson Scroggins, a 6-4 senior with a soft shooting touch, put down 22. Trice Clapper, a 6-3 aircraft carrier type in the midde, put in 15. And Dammon scooted around and scored 13, and dished for more.
Baxter will take a 20-1 record into Saturday’s sub-state game. And the Bolts likely will make their presence known.
Shearer’s 39 came on 13-for-25 field goal shooting. That included 7-for-13 from three-point range, and 6-for-6 from the line. Shearer was the only Braves player to go to the free throw line.
Against Moravia last week, the Braves got 26 points from Brady Boulton and 24 from Gavin Strong.
Baxter shadowed Boulton, the idea being to prevent him from driving the lane, where he could take the ball to the rim, or dish to the wings.
The ploy worked in the first half. Boulton, Montezuma’s season scoring leader, didn’t score during the first two periods.
But, Boulton went on a run after Montezuma widened its offense in the second half. And Shearer enjoyed a career night splitting the seams.
Gavin Strong finished with 11 points. Garrett Watts had 7. Boulton scored 6.
The Braves trailed 28-13 after the first quarter, and 49-35 at halftime.
Montezuma outscored the Bolts 14-6 the rest of the first half after Dengler’s third time-out.
For a time, Montezuma looked on pace to catch and pass the Bolts. But credit the Baxter defense for throwing up a wall, which caused three straight empty possessions one time, and four on a row a bit later.
The Braves had the ball trailing 70-65 with 4:30 left, but then came those empty possessions. Baxter preserved and extended its lead with free throws.
Baxter had a 35-19 lead in rebounding. But, the Bolts took just four off their offensive glass, marking a major improvement for Montezuma in a short time.
The Bolts shot .604 from the field, and went 8-for-16 on treys, so there were not a real lot of offensive rebounds to go after.
Gavin Strong reached double figures in his final game with 11 points.
The Braves closed a 17-7 season.
It was the final high school game for seniors Shearer, Strong, Owen Cook and Colton Benson.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Baxter 28 21 15 18 – 82
Montezuma 13 22 19 15 – 69
MONTEZUMA (69)
Gavin Strong 5-10, 0-0, 0, 4. Masin Shearer 13-25, 6-6, 2, 39. Garrett Watts 3-10, 0-0, 3, 7. Brady Boulton 3-9, 0-0, 3, 6. Colton Benson 1-1, 0-0, 0, 2. Owen Cook 2-8, 0-0, 4, 4. Kohen Holland 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Max Anderson 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS – 27-64, 6-6, 12, 69.
BAXTER (82)
TOTALS – 32-53, 10-14, 11, 82.
Line score legend: field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Three-pointers: Montezuma 9-25 (Shearer 7-13, Strong 1-3, Watts 1-3, Boulton 0-3, Cook 0-3); Baxter 8-16.
Turnovers: Montezuma 3, Baxter 12.
Rebounds: Montezuma 19 (Watts 7, Cook 5, Shearer 2, Boulton 2, Strong 1, Benson 1, Anderson 1); Baxter 35.
Assists: Montezuma 9 (Cook 4, Shearer 2, Boulton 2, Watts 1).
Steals: Montezuma 8 (Boulton 3, Watts 2, Shearer 2, Strong 1).
Deflections: Montezuma 6 (Boulton 3, Shearer 2, Strong 1).
