MORAVIA – To say Moravia caused Montezuma some concern would be putting it mildly. Understating it, even.
With the Mohawks seemingly converting every offensive rebound into points, you had to wonder if they were missing their initial shots on purpose, just so they could go fetch the ball and score it.
The Mohawks were up 30-19 with five minutes left in the first half, then change swept through their throbbing gym like an arctic cold front goes through an unheated barn.
The Braves were finding people to block off the boards. The game changed. Montezuma went on a 23-4 run to go up by eight points, 44-36 midway through the third quarter.
You know the result: A 72-61 Montezuma win in Saturday’s Class 1A district semifinals.
“We’ve been working on rebounding the whole season, but obviously it has been really important lately,” said Braves Coach Derrick Dengler. “It took a little punch by Moravia to get going, but we responded well.”
Things did turn and go back the other way for a bit. Both teams had runs left in them. A 14-6 run by the Mohawks had the game tied at 50-50 through three quarters.
Then, the Braves stepped up on offense. Gavin Strong and Brady Boulton combined for 18 points in a 22-11 Montezuma fourth quarter. Masin Shearer and his ballhandling and passing skills were right in the middle of it.
Strong went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 36 seconds as the Braves pulled away late.
Boulton scored 26 points for Montezuma and Strong had 24.
The loss was just the second for Moravia after 21 wins.
Gage Hanes, 6-2, scored 16 points for the Mohawks. Riley Hawkins, 6-2, had 15, and Shane Helmick, 6-2, scored 12.
Moravia out-rebounded the Braves 40-26, with 17 of their boards coming off the offensive glass.
Montezuma, though, did enough things well to win. They outshot Moravia .482 to .382. The Braves went 11-for-12 from the free throw line and outscored the Mohawks by 4 points from there.
Montezuma knocked down 7 three-pointers, to just a pair by Moravia.
Moravia had 16 turnovers, on Montezuma’s chart, to just 6 by the Braves.
Boulton was 10-for-16 from the field, including 4-for-5 on treys. He also had 6 assists and 4 steals.
Strong was 8-for-13 from the field and 6-for-6 (all in the last :36) from the line.
Shearer led the Braves with 7 reounds.
The Braves, now 17-6, advance to Tuesday’s district championship game against Baxter. That game has been moved from Grinnell to Pleasantville.
UP NEXT – We just told you when and where. Time: 7 p.m. tip.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Montezuma 15 17 18 22 – 72
Moravia 20 14 16 11 – 61
MONTEZUMA (72)
Gavin Strong 8-13, 6-6, 4, 24. Masin Shearer 5-15, 1-2, 1, 12. Garrett Watts 1-5, 2-2, 2, 4. Brady Boulton 10-16, 2-2, 3, 26. Colton Benson 1-1, 0-0, 0, 2. Owen Cook 1-4, 0-0, 2, 2. Kohen Holland 1-2, 0-0, 1, 2. Max Anderson 0-0, 0-0, 3, 0. TOTALS – 27-56, 11-12, 16, 72.
MORAVIA (61)
TOTALS – 26-68, 7-12, 14, 61.
Line score legend: field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Three-pointers: Montezuma 7-18 (Boulton 4-5, Strong 2-3, Shearer 1-6, Watts 0-1, Holland 0-1, Cook 0-2); Moravia 2-16.
Turnovers: Montezuma 6, Moravia 16.
Rebounds – Montezuma 26 (Shearer 7, Cook 6, Watts 5, Boulton 4, Strong 3, Holland 1); Moravia 40.
Assists: Montezuma 11 (Boulton 6, Strong 4, Shearer 1).
Steals: Montezuma 7 (Boulton 4, Shearer 2, Strong 1).
Deflections: Montezuma 3 (Cook 2, Watts 1).