For Montezuma against previously unbeaten Keota, it was all about tempo control.
The Braves jumped out to a 9-0 early lead, controlled the pace of play and rolled to an 80-46 victory over the Eagles at home on Friday, Jan. 15.
Keota held the ball out front for close to a minute on its first possession. After that, the Eagles were soon playing catch-up, and they couldn’t keep up with Montezuma’s prolific offense.
The Braves touch-passed inside for three quick baskets by post forward Eddie Burgess. At the other end, Montezuma’s man-to-man defense contested almost every shot.
Montezuma’s offensive attack was balanced, with five players scoring in double figures. The Braves dominated the boards by a 27-14 margin, another big factor allowing them to control tempo. Burgess had a double-double: 16 points and 15 rebounds. No Keota player grabbed more than four.
Senior guard Trey Shearer, who has damaged Keota aplenty during his four years on the Montezuma varsity, was the Braves’ scoring leader with 21 points. That’s actually 20 below his average. But on this night, he had tons of help.
Burgess scored 16. Cole Watts had 15. Gavin Strong came off the bench for 11. And Masin Shearer scored 11.
Montezuma, up 20-7 after one quarter, went on a 13-0 run to start the second. During the run, Burgess grabbed a defensive rebound and passed long to Trey Shearer who missed a shot, but Cole Watts put back the rebound while being fouled. He converted the three-point play.
That was a domineering play, but it showcased the difference between these teams on this particular night.
Montezuma made eight three-pointers in the first half, which ended at 42-13. Keota came in as the fourth-best defense in Class 1A, allowing just 36.5 points per game.
Montezuma went on a 9-0 run to start the third quarter, and a continuous clock, which most in the big crowd probably didn’t anticipate on this night, was close at hand.
The Braves led 62-26 through three quarters. Montezuma shot a sizzling .633 from the field, on 31 hoops in 49 attempts. They were nine-for-16 from three-point range, and nine-for-11 from the free throw line.
Montezuma improved to 11-2 overall, including 10-1 in South Iowa Cedar League play.
Keota took its first loss after an 11-0 start. The Eagles are 8-1 against the league. Bryce Greiner, an 8.1 ppg. scorer, led the Eagles with 16 points. Carson Sprouse, who carried a 17.4 average, netted five. Luke Hammen, a 16.9 scorer, put in 10.
UP NEXT – Montezuma has a showdown meeting now with North Mahaska, at home, on Tuesday, Jan. 19. The Warhawks put the only league loss on the Braves in the first game of the season.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Keota 7 6 13 20 – 46
Montezuma 20 22 20 18 – 80
MONTEZUMA (80)
Cam Johnson 1-1, 0-0, 1, 2. Masin Shearer 4-7, 1-1, 3, 11. Cole Watts 5-8, 2-2, 2, 15. Trey Shearer 7-10, 5-5, 3, 21. Eddie Burgess 8-11, 0-0, 0, 16. Garrett Watts 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Maguire De Jong 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Owen Cook 1-4, 0-1, 2, 11. Gavin Strong 5-7, 0-1, 2, 11. Joey Kercheval 0-0, 1-2, 0, 1. TOTALS – 31-49, 9-11, 13, 80.
KEOTA (46)
TOTALS – 18-42, 3-9, 13, 46.
Line score legend: Field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal foul, total points.
Turnovers: Keota 10, Montezuma 6.
Three-point goals: Keota 7-19, Montezuma 9-16 (C. Watts 3-5, M. Shearer 2-2, T. Shearer 2-4, Cook 1-2, Strong 1-3).
Rebounds: Keota 14, Montezuma 27 (Burgess 15, T. Shearer 5, Cook 2, M. Shearer 1, C. Watts 1, G. Watts 1, Strong 1, Kercheval 1).
Assists: Keota 9, Montezuma 15 (T. Shearer 7, M. Shearer 5, Burgess 2, Johnson 1).
Steals: Keota 5, Montezuma 5 (T. Shearer 2, C. Watts 1, Burgess 1, Strong 1).
Blocks: Keota 2, Montezuma 1 (Burgess 1).