The Montezuma Braves were consistent on offense throughout, and on defense for three quarters in a 73-34 win over Iowa Valley on Tuesday evening, Dec. 20, in the final game of the 2022 portion of the season.
The Braves put four players into double figures as they led 17-6 after one quarter, 36-22 at halftime, and 59-33 after three periods.
Tigers to .250 shooting on 10 fewer attempts.
“Overall, I thought we played well,” said Braves Coach Derrick Dengler. “We took very good shots on offense and made them hit tough shots when we were on defense.”
Freshman guard Brady Boulton led Montezuma scorers with 21 points on eight-for-13 shooting from the field, including five-for-nine from behind the arc.
Garrett Watts had a strong game with 18 points. He was six-for-16 from the field, but went five-for-five from the line and was the only Montezuma player to shoot free throws.
Max Anderson scored 13 points on five-for-six shooting, including three-for-four on three pointers.
Gavin Strong scored 12 points and shot five-for-eight from the field.
The Braves held Iowa Valley to single digit scoring in every quarter except the second, then the Tigers put up 16 points.
“They have a tough matchup problem for us with Caleb Haack,” Dengler said. “He has good size (6-7) and can shoot well from the outside,” Dengler said.
Haack, a sophomore, “made a couple of shots in the second quarter to lead to their run,” said Montezuma’s coach.
Montezuma outscored the Tigers 37-12 in the second half.
Boulton added five rebounds, four assists and two steals to his scoring totals.
Owen Cook led the Braves with eight rebounds and Montezuma had a 28-26 edge in this category.
Watts had five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Braves went to 6-2 overall and to 5-2 against SICL teams.
Iowa Valley is 2-7 and 2-6. Haack scored 20 points on eight-for-17 shooting, including two-for-six in three pointers.
THE BRAVES – Don’t play again until 2023.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Iowa Valley 6 16 11 1 – 34
Montezuma 17 19 23 14 – 73
MONTEZUMA (73)
Jack Erselius 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Gavin Strong 5-8, 0-0, 3, 12. Masin Shearer 3-12, 0-0, 0, 7. Garrett Watts 6-16, 5-5, 0, 18. David Rose 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Brady Boulton 8-13, 0-0, 2, 21. Alex Black 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Colton Benson 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Owen Cook 1-4, 0-0, 1, 2. Kohen Holland 0-2, 0-0, 2, 0. Max Anderson 5-6, 0-0, 1, 13. Jayden Ross 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTAL – 28-62, 5-5, 9, 73.
IOWA VALLEY (34) – TOTALS 13-52, 5-8, 5, 34.
Line score legend: field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Three-pointers: Montezuma 12-34 (Boulton 5-9, Anderson 3-4, Strong 2-4, Watts 1-6, Sherer 1-8, Holland 0-1, Cook 0-2); Iowa Valley 3-19.
Turnovers: Montezuma 6, Iowa Valley 17.
Rebounds: Montezuma 28 (Cook 8, Watts 5, Boulton 5, Strong 4, Holland 3, Shearer 1, Benson 1, Anderson 1); Iowa Valley 26.
Assists: Montezuma 15 (Boulton 4, Strong 3, Shearer 2, Watts 2, Cook 2, Anderson 1, Benson 1).
Steals: Montezuma 8 (Watts 2, Boulton 2, Shearer 1, Black 1, Cook 1, Holland 1).
Deflections: Montezuma 7 (Shearer 2, Benson 2, Strong 1, Watts 1, Cook 1).