Twin Cedars tried a box-and-one zone defense against Montezuma – but to no avail.
The Braves shot out the lights from the start, and rolled to a 74-24 win over the Sabers in Monday’s (Feb. 12) opening night of district play.
A box-and-one is a defense where one defender plays man-to-man, in this case against Braves’ sharpshooter Brady Boulton – and the other four patrol a zone.
Boulton got the ball to teammates – in this case, forward Max Anderson, who shot three-balls, or passed back to Boulton for the same.
Anderson and Boulton went 7-for-11 from behind the arc in the first quarter alone. The Braves shot out to a 22-0 lead and never looked back in rolling to Thursday’s second round at North Mahaska.
“The boys took advantage with pressure defense right away . .and took are of business in the post-season,” said Montezuma Coach Derrick Dengler.
Boulton finished with 26 points, after netting 22 in the first half.
Anderson scored 17 points and Garrett Watts scored 12.
The Braves, who played their entire bench, still managed to shoot close to 50 percent from the field, compared with 24 percent by Twin Cedars.
Montezuma also led in rebounds and were whistled for just two personal fouls in the game.
Montezuma led 52-10 at halftime, then the second half was played under a continuous clock.
The Braves lifted their record to 15-7, while Twin Cedars finished its season at 6-12.
North Mahaska and Montezuma split their two regular season meetings, each winning on the other’s floor.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Twin Cedars 6 4 10 4 – 24
Montezuma 29 23 18 4 – 74
MONTEZUMA (74) – Jack Erselius 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Dane Strong 1-6, 0-0, 0, 2. Briar Simpson 0-0, 0-2, 0, 0. Garrett Watts 6-11, 0-0, 0, 12. David Rose 3-8, 1-1, 1, 7. Luke Brennan 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Brady Boulton 10-15, 2-4, 0, 26. Bryson Stockman 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Alex Black 1-3, 2-2, 1, 4. Broox Stockman 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Linkyn Bru 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Kohen Holland 3-5, 0-0, 0, 6. Easton Hudnut 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Max Anderson 6-8, 0-0, 0, 17. Jayden Ross 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Blake Smith 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS – 30-61, 5-9, 2, 74.
TWIN CEDARS (24) – TOTALS – 10-38, 1-2, 5, 24.
Line score legend: field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Turnovers: Montezuma 5, Twin Cedars 23.
Three-pointers: Montezumz 9-26 (Andeson 5-7, Boulton 4-6, Erselius 0-1, Strong 0-3, Rose 0-4, Brennan 0-1, Bru 0-1, Holland 0-1, Hudnut 0-1, Ross 0-1); Twin Cedars 3-12.
Rebounds: Montezuma 28 (Watts 8, Black 4, Holland 4, Rose 3, Simpson 2, Boulton 2, Anderson 2, Strong 1, Brx Stockman 1, Ross 1); Twin Cedars 23.
Assists: Montezuma 13 (Boulton 5, Anderson 3, Watts 2, Rose 1, Black 1, Holland 1).
Steals: Montezuma 15 (Watts 4, Boulton 4, Rose 2, Holland 2, Simpson 1, Black 1, Brx Stockman 1).
Deflections: Montezuma 7 (Boulton 2, Black 2, Anderson 1, Holland 1).
Blocks: Montezuma 6 (Black 2, Strong 1, Watts 1, Brennan 1, Holland 1).