NORTH ENGLISH – Coming in, the boys basketball game between Montezuma and English Valleys had some allure: Two teams with just one loss each in South Iowa Cedar League play.
Going out, Montezuma still has the allure, after a resounding 80-33 victory.
Part of that allure: Senior Cole Watts netted his 1,000th career point, the 11th players in Montezuma history to reach that mark.
And there is a most important footnote: Eddie Burgess returned to the Montezuma lineup. That one could reach exclamation point status as time marches forward.
The Braves (8-2 overall; 7-1 SICL) full court pressed their way to an early 7-2 lead and never looked back against the Bears (6-2, 5-2).
Trey Shearer scored 29 points and Cole Watts threw down 21 as Montezuma raced to leads of 17-7 after one quarter, 40-15 by halftime and 62-26 through three quarters.
Burgess, the versatile 6-4 post forward, has been rehabilitating a knee that was injured in the state football semifinals game against Remsen St. Mary’s.
He was hoping to return before post-season tournament play begins.
Well, at the 3:10 mark of the first quarter, Burgess was back.
Right away, he grabbed a defensive rebound. Within moments, he got an assist with a nifty inside pass.
And it was quickly apparent what he means to the Braves. Ask Trey Shearer, who had lanes to drive in that were well, quite a bit wider than they have been.
Burgess, playing less than half the game’s minutes, scored 12 points on six-for-six shooting. He led the Braves with nine rebounds, eight on the defensive end. He also dished four assists and had two steals.
English Valleys has some size, but regardless who was on the floor for the Braves, they were jamming and clogging the Bears’ passing lanes.
Trey Shearer went off for 22 points in the first half.
Cole Watts hit a trey before halftime, then three more in the second half.
The Braves had a sluggish third quarter start, their only real lull of the evening. The Bears hit a trey, then got to the rim for three baskets, prompting Braves Coach Derrick Dengler to call time.
Montezuma wound up dropping in a dozen three-pointers, to just three by English Valleys. Watts added a team-high seven assists to his 21 points and also pulled down five rebounds. The Braves led 35-16 in rebounds. Montezuma shot .596 from the field, and limited the Bears to .318 and 13 fewer attempts.
Kaden Hall led English Valleys with eight points – 10 below his average – and Brayden Mikesell had six.
UP NEXT – Montezuma hosts Iowa Valley in a girls-boys doubleheader on Friday, Jan. 8.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Montezuma 17 23 22 18 – 80
English Valleys 7 8 11 7 – 33
MONTEZUMA (80)
Cam Johnson 2-2, 0-2, 1, 4. Masin Shearer 3-10, 0-0, 0, 6. Cole Watts 8-12, 1-1, 3, 21. Trey Shearer 12-17, 0-0, 2, 29. Owen Cook 1-2, 0-0, 2, 3. Jack Erselius 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Garrett Watts 0-1, 0-2, 0, 0. Sawyer Tindle 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Maguire De Jong 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Gavin Strong 1-4, 0-0, 3, 3. Eddie Burgess 6-6, 0-1, 0, 12. Joey Kercheval 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Ryan Cheney 1-1, 0-0, 0, 2. TOTALS – 34-57, 1-6, 11, 80.
ENGLISH VALLEYS (33)
TOTALS – 14-44, 2-5, XX, 33.
Line score legend: Field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Turnovers: EV 12, Montezuma 11.
Three-point goals: EV 3-18, Montezuma 11-26 (T. Shearer 5-10, C. Watts 4-8, Cook 1-1, Strong 1-1, M. Shearer 0-4, G. Watts 0-1, De Jong 0-1).
Rebounds: EV 16, Montezuma 35 (Burgess 9, Cook 6, C. Watts 5, T. Shearer 4, Strong 3, Kercheval 2, Johnson 2, M. Shearer 1, G. Watts 1, Tindle 1, Cheney 1).
Assists: EV 11, Montezuma 21 (C. Watts 7, M. Shearer 4, T. Shearer 4, Burgess 4, Johnson 1, Strong 1).
Steals: EV 2, Montezuma 10 (Johnson 4, C. Watts 3, Burgess 2, T. Shearer 1).
Blocks: EV 0, Montezuma 1 (T. Shearer 1).