SIGOURNEY – It was apparent – quickly – that the Sigourney Savages would have problems coping with the foot and hand speed of the Montezuma Braves in their varsity boys basketball game Friday night, Dec. 16.
The Braves jumped out to a 20-12 first quarter lead, extended it to 41-18 by halftime, and held that margin most of the rest of the way in a 78-56 victory.
It was an important conference win for Montezuma, which entered the contest with a 2-2 record in the league and in some danger of losing contact with the leaders with another pre-holidays loss.
The Braves displayed balanced scoring, with four starters scoring in double figures. Gavin Strong scored 19 points on nine-for-16 shooting.
Garrett Watts put down 17, and was seven-for-10 from the field.
Then came Masin Shearer with 13 points and Brady Boulton with 12.
The fifth starter, Owen Cook had eight of his nine total rebounds off the defensive end, and scored nine points. Max Anderson scored eight.
Sigourney entered wth a 5-2 overall mark, so it deserved the Braves’ respect and attention. It got both.
Montezuma’s rapid ball movement resulted in open looks and the Braves knocked down some shots.
On defense, Montezuma alternated full court zone presses and had the Savages hurrying some passes and shots.
The Braves had a 41-34 edge in rebounds, with five players grabbing five or more.
To his 19 points, Strong added six rebounds, two assists, six steals and two deflections.
Montezuma went to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the SICL with the win.
Sigourney fell to 5-3 overall.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Montezuma 20 21 19 18 – 78
Sigourney 12 6 19 19 – 56
MONTEZUMA (78)
Jack Erselius 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Gavin Strong 9-16, 1-4, 1, 19. Masin Shearer 6-11, 0-0, 2, 13. Garrett Watts 7-10, 2-2, 2, 17. David Rose 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Brady Boulton 5-14, 1-1, 1, 12. Alex Black 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Colton Benson 0-5, 0-0, 2, 0. Owen Cook 4-6, 0-0, 1, 9. Kohen Holland 0-2, 0-2, 0, 0. Max Anderson 3-6, 0-0, 0, 8. Jayden Ross 0-2, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS – 34-73, 4-9, 9, 78.
SIGOURNEY (56) – 23-61, 4-9, 12, 56.
Line score legend: field goals made-attempted, free throw made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Three-pointers: Montezuma 6-25 (Anderson 2-4, Shearer 1-2, Watts 1-2, Boulton 1-7, Cook 1-2, Strong 0-4, Benson 0-1, Holland 0-1, Ross 0-2); Sigourney 6-20.
Turnovers: Montezuma 14, Sigourney 19.
Rebounds: Montezuma 41 (Cook 9, Strong 6, Watts 6, Boulton 5, Holland 5, Shearer 3, Black 2, Benson 2, Anderson 2, Rose 1); Sigourney – 34.
Assists: Montezuma 11 (Boulton 3, Watts 3, Strong 2, Shearer 2, Erselius 1); Sigourney: not available.
Steals: Montezuma 13 (Strong 6, Boulton 3, Shearer 1, Benson 1, Holland 1, Anderson 1); Sigourney – not available.
Deflections: Montezuma 7 (Strong 2, Erselius 1, Shearer 1, Watts 1, Holland 1, Anderson 1). Sigourney – not available.