It’s hard to defend the Montezuma Braves.
They can put YOU on lockdown, too.
The Braves were solid and strong in the first half against English Valleys at home Monday evening, Jan. 20.
They led 22-11 and 43-23 at the quarter breaks.
Then, they were over-the-top tough in a 25-3 third quarter.
“We had good stretches on defense, especially in the second half,” said Montezuma Coach Derrick Dengler.
The Braves ran their record to 9-1 with their 77-43 win.
Cole Watts, Trey Shearer and Eddie Burgess put up some numbers in this one. “Offensively, we really moved the ball,” Dengler said. “It caught them off guard.”
Burgess, the 6-4 sophomore post, had a double-double, with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Watts led scorers with 24 points, added nine rebounds, a trio of three-point baskets, and blocked three shots.
Shearer was all over the place. He scored 20 points on eight-for-11 shooting. He also had six assists, three steals and four deflections. Trey dropped in a trey, also.
The Braves shot .612 from the field. That’s largely a result of attacking the rim, sometimes finishing there, sometimes kicking out for an open look shot.
They had a 31-19 lead in rebounds, and their nine turnovers were four fewer than English Valleys’ total. The Bears shot just .364 from the field.
Dengler noted that Burgess “has matured on the defensive end.” He said the coaches challenge him to defend without fouling, and getting into rebounding position.
Monday’s performance indicated he’s absorbing and implementing the material he has been receiving!
UP NEXT – A big one, against Keota, Tuesday night, Jan. 21, down there.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
English Valleys 11 12 3 17 – 43
Montezuma 22 21 25 9 – 77
MONTEZUMA (77) – Brydon Henning 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Brayden Arendt 2-3, 0-0, 3, 6. Masin Shearer 2-7, 0-0, 2, 4. Connor Van Zee 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Cole Watts 9-14, 3-3, 2, 24. Joey Kercheval 1-1, 0-0, 3, 3. Maguire DeJong 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Trey Shearer 8-11, 1-2, 1, 17. Colton Benson 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. Owen Cook 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0. Gavin Strong 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Eddie Burgess 8-11, 1-2, 1, 17. Brody Chidester 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS – 30-49, 7-9, 14, 77.
ENGLISH VALLEYS (43)
TOTALS – 16-44, 10-15, 11, 43.
Line score legend: Field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Turnovers: Montezuma 9, English Valleys 13.
Three-point goals: Montezuma 7-16 (Watts 3, Arendt 2, Kercheval 1, T. Shearer 1); English Valleys 3-9.
Rebounds: Montezuma 31 (Burgess 14, Watts 9, T. Shearer 2, Henning 1, Arendt 1, M. Shearer 1, Kercheval 1, Chidester 1, team 1); English Valleys 19.
Montezuma assists: T. Shearer 6, Watts 4, M. Shearer 2, Cook 1, Burgess 1.
Steals: T. Shearer 3, Watts 2, Arendt 1, M. Shearer 1, Cook 1, Burgess 1).
Deflections: T. Shearer 4, Arendt 1.
Blocks: Watts 3, Burgess 1, Arendt 1, M. Shearer 1.
