BROOKLYN – Basketball players learn to fill roles as the season progresses, and the Montezuma Braves appear to be learning quickly.
BGM had plenty of fight, but the Braves were tough on both ends of the floor and prevailed, 66-38, in an early-season South Iowa Cedar League matchup on Friday, Dec. 9.
Montezuma put three players into double figures scoring, and out-pointed the Bears in each quarter.
Garrett Watts and Brady Boulton scored 18 points each for Montezuma, while Masin Shearer had 12 and Gavin Strong scored eight.
Jacob Mauer led BGM with 15 points. Next came Dominic Coleman with nine, but Bears scoring trailed off after that.
Montezuma led 14-6 after one quarter, 32-17 at halftime and 53-30 though three periods.
The Braves won the rebound battle 30-26 and had 10 turnovers to BGM’s 17.
At .385 from the floor, Montezuma’s shooting didn’t blaze the nets, but the Bears shot just .270 on 13 fewer attempts.
Watts scored his 18 on eight-for-16 shooting and he led the Braves with seven rebounds.
Boulton got his 18 on six-for-12 from the field, and four-for-five from the line.
Shearer added team-highs of four in both assists and steals to his 12 points.
Gavin Strong’s eight points came in addition to six rebounds.
Mauer added five rebounds and four assists to his 15 points for the Bears.
Montezuma went to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in league play.
BGM is 1-3, all within the SICL.
UP NEXT – The Braves and Bravettes both have important games at home on Tuesday against formidable North Mahaska teams.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Montezuma 14 18 21 13 – 66
BGM 6 11 13 8 – 38
MONTEZUMA (66)
Jack Erselius 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Gavin Strong 3-12, 1-2, 0, 8. Masin Shearer 4-7, 0-0, 3, 12. Garrett Watts 8-16, 1-3, 2, 18. David Rose 1-1, 1-3, 0, 2. Brady Boulton 6-12, 4-5, 1, 18. Alex Black 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. Colton Benson 0-2, 0-2, 1, 0. Owen Cook 2-9, 1-4, 3, 5. Kohen Holland 0-2, 0-0, 0, 0. Max Anderson 1-2, 0-0, 0, 3. Jayden Ross 0-2, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS – 25-65, 7-16, 11, 66.
BGM (38) – 14-52, 6-9, 15, 38.
Line score legend: field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Three-pointers: Montezuma 9-30 (Shearer 4-7, Boulton 2-6, Watts 1-3, Anderson 1-2, Strong 1-7, Holland 0-1, Cook 0-2, Ross 0-2). BGM – 4-17.
Turnovers: Montezuma 10, BGM 17.
Rebounds: Montezuma 30 (Watts 7, Strong 6, Cook 5, Anderson 3, Benson 2, Black 2, Boulton 3, Shearer 1, Holland 1). BGM – 26.
Assists: Montezuma 9 (Shearer 4, Cook 2, Watts 1, Boulton 1, Anderson 1. BGM – not available.
Steals: Montezuma 9 (Shearer 4, Boulton 3, Black 1, Cook 1). BGM – 1.