Fourth-seeded Montezuma and #5 Martensdale-St. Mary’s will be toting an almost matching set of numbers into their Monday, March 9 Class 1A state quarterfinal game – at 9:30 a.m. – in Wells Fargo Arena.
I emphasized the time of day somewhat because . . .the team that brings more energy at that early hour may have an advantage.
There’s an assumption there that more energy leads to better execution, and so forth.
The Blue Devils are 23-3. Montezuma is 23-2.
The Blue Devils score 70 points a game, to the Braves’ 71.
The Blue Devils yield 46. Montezuma gives up 48.
Martensdale-St. Mary’s has a 6-10 guy, a 6-4 guy, and does some rebounding.
Montezuma doesn’t have a 6-10 guy, but 6-4, 225-pound Eddie Burgess has looked up at big posts before.
And Montezuma shoots a better percentage in all areas: Field goals in general, three-pointers specifically and free throws.
There’s more, but first let’s look at Blue Devils individuals.
Biggest scorer is 6-4 junior Trey Baker, with a 17.2 scoring average. He shoots .486 from the field and .772 from the line. He’s also the top rebounder at just under eight per game.
Isaac Gavin is the 6-10 senior who averages 13.3 points, and shoots .620, mostly from in close. He has blocked 47 shots (about two a game), and averages seven rebounds.
The Blue Devils actually feature balanced scoring, with four in double figures and a fifth right on the verge of that.
Jack Franey, a 5-7 junior, averages 10.5 points and is the top assists man at 7.5 a game.
Carson Elbert, a 6.3 junior, scored 11.8 per game until missing several games recently. He got back and scored seven in the team’s regional title win over Mt. Ayr.
Troy Holt, a 6-0 junior, had been starting in Elbert’s place and averaged 3.1 points a game.
Hogan Franey, a 6-0 sophomore, averages 9.2 points and three assists
First off the bench usually has been JT Archibald, a 6-2 junior with a 5.7 scoring average.
The Blue Devils shoot .507 from the field, including .331 on treys and .661 on free throws.
The Braves are at .543 from the field, .391 on threes and .754 on free throws.
The Blue Devils get more rebounds, (33 a game to 28) but do miss more shots. A stat perhaps with a difference worth noting: The Braves have 161 turnovers, to 319 by Martensdale-St. Mary’s.
The Braves can throw some serious firepower and defense in the way of opposing teams.
Trey Shearer, the 5-10 junior guard, averages 25.5 points on .637 from the field and a remarkable .453 from behind the arc. He’s an .838 free throw shooter.
Shearer does more: He averages 5.3 assists, 3.6 rebounds and has 60 steals.
Cole Watts, a 5-10 junior, averaged 18.4 points on .525 shooting, including .418 on treys. He’s a .784 free thrower and brings down 6.3 rebounds per game.
Burgess averages 11 points (on .659 shooting), and 10.3 rebounds. He is a crisp passer and has 87 assists.
The Braves overcome their overall lack of size by being fierce competitors and sharp technicians, spending a lot of practice time on blocking out and making outlet passes to their quick guards.
Freshman Masin Shearer scores 8.4 per game and averages .398 on three-pointers.
Senior Brayden Arendt, 5-8, is cat-quick in the open floor and scores 5.7 a game.
Owen Cook, a 6-1 freshman, has given the Braves some quality time subbing in for Burgess during tournament games.
Coach Derrick Dengler has lavished praise on the rest of the squad for its work in practice, saying that bunch has been a simply great scout team.
So, there’s a bunch of numbers.
Let’s see who brings and energy and the execution.