VICTOR – The Braves put the pedal to the metal early, using a big start to begin a 72-36 win over HLV in varsity boys basketball action on Tuesday, Jan. 18.
The Braves led 27-10 after one quarter, and 50-20 at halftime.
Four Braves scored in double figures, but one of them, Eddie Burgess, put up a rebounding number to remember. He squeezed 24 of them, breaking his own school single game record.
Eddie had 22 rebounds when Montezuma beat HLV the second time last season.
Burgess and Masin Shearer each scored 17 points and Gavin Strong and Owen Cook each put in 13 as all continued their steady play.
The Braves scored 10 three-point baskets. “We shot well from three-point range (10-23) and that always helps,” Braves Coach Derrick Dengler said.
Montezuma fans know Burgess is a tremendous force on the defensive boards. In this game, he was a load on both ends: 15 defensive rebounds, and nine offensive.
He was a load, period: Burgess led the Braves with six assists, five blocked shots and three steals.
“We generated lots of deflections and turnovers, and caused quick shots on defense,” Dengler said.
Shearer was five-for-10 on three-pointers on his way to 17 points. He also have five assists.
Montezuma shot .500 from the field, and limited HLV to .280 field goal shooting.
The Braves had a 40-20 advantage on rebounds.
And check out this number: Montezuma assisted on 22 of its 28 baskets.
“Offensively, we were really good when we were simple and took the easy shot,” Dengler said.
The victory lifted Montezuma to 10-3 overall, and 9-2 against the South Iowa Cedar League.
HLV stands at 1-12 and 1-10.
WELCOME BACK! – The game marked the return to action of Garrett Watts, who has been rehabbing a broken foot suffered during football season. He played four minutes and managed to hoist up one shot. Watts will add to Montezuma’s depth as the season moves forward.
UP NEXT – Montezuma’s teams host Lynnville-Sully on Friday, Jan 21.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Montezuma 27 23 14 8 – 72
HLV 10 10 8 6 – 36
MONTEZUMA (72) – Gavin Strong 5-9, 2-4, 1, 13. Masin Shearer 6-14, 0-0, 1, 17. Colton Benson 1-3, 0-1, 2, 2. Owen Cook 5-13, 1-2, 2, 13. Eddie Burgess 7-8, 3-5, 1, 17. Jack Erselius 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Garrett Watts 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Max Anderson 1-3, 0-0, 0, 3. Maguire De Jong 1-1, 0-0, 3, 2. Alex Black 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Houston Van Roekel 1-1, 0-0, 0, 3. Jeremy Williams 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Sawyer Tindle 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Cam Michalek 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Ryan Cheney 1-2, 0-0, 0, 2. TOTALS – 28-56, 6-12, 8, 72.
HLV (36) – TOTALS – 14-50, 6-10, 13, 36.
Line score legend: Field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Turnovers: Montezuma 17, HLV 14.
Three-point goals: Montezuma 10-23 (Shearer 5-10, Cook 2-5, VanRoekel 1-1, Anderson 1-3, Strong 1-3, Michalek 0-1); HLV 2-10.
Rebounds: Montezuma 40 (Burgess 24, Strong 7, Cook 3, Shearer 2, Anderson 2, Benson 1, Williams 1); HlV 20.
Assists: Montezuma 22 (Burgess 6, Shearer 5, Strong 4, Anderson 3, Cook 3, Williams 1).
Steals: Montezuma 7 (Burgess 3, Strong 1, Shearer 1, Cook 1, Anderson 1).
Blocks: Montezuma 6 (Burgess 5, Strong 1); HLV 5.