MONTEZUMA – The Montezuma Braves had nice balance and played a sharp game against Keota.
That was especially true in the second half, when they outscored the Eagles 38-32 to create some distance between the two in a 64-56 Braves victory on Friday evening, Dec. 19.
The Braves really hit the boards in this game, grabbing 41 rebounds.
Guard Brady Boulton ran down 11 of those, part of a personal double-double which included a team-high 21 points. He also led the team in assists with 6.
Talen Holland had 8 rebounds, Broox Stockman ran down 7 and Dane Strong had 6.
The Braves had balanced scoring, too. Behind Boulton came Holland with 13, Easton Hudnut with 10, and Dane Strong with 9.
Montezuma spread out its three shooting, with Boulton, Hudnut and Brooks Wilson all nailing two each.
The Braves limited their turnovers to 7.
Montezuma led 26-24 at halftime, but 45-38 after three quarters as the Braves put together a pair of 19-point quarters on offense.
The Braves shot .407 from the field on 24 baskets in 59 attempts. And to round out a balanced performance, they got themselves to the free throw line for 15 attempts and made 9.
The Braves went to 6-1 for the season, which includes 6-0 in South Iowa Cedar League play.
Keota fell to 3-3 overall.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Keota 15 9 14 18 – 56
Montezuma 15 11 19 19 – 64
MONTEZUMA (64) – Dane Strong 4-11, 1-1, 2, 9; Easton Hudnut 4-10, 0-0, 0, 10; Talen Holland 6-9, 1-4, 1, 13; Luke Brennan 1-5, 1-2, 1, 4; Brady Boulton 7-20, 5-6, 1, 21; Brooks Wilson 2-3, 0-0, 1, 6; Broox Stockman 0-1, 0-0, 3, 0; Tommy Heemstra 0-0, 1-2, 1, 1. TOTALS – 24-59, 9-15, 10, 64.
Line score legend: field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Turnovers – 7.
3-pointers – 7-27 (Hudnut 2-8, Boulton 2-8, Wilson 2-3, Brennan 1-4, Stockman 0-1, Strong 0-3.
Rebounds – 41 (Boulton 11, Holland 8, Stockman 7, Strong 6, Heemstra 3, Hudnut 2, Brennan 4).
Assists – 13 (Boulton 6, Hudnut 3, Brennan 2, Strong 1, Wilson 1).
Steals – 2 (Holland 1, Wilson 1).
Blocks – 3 (Heemstra 2, Holland 1).