By Coach John Beck
Montezuma’s junior high boys ‘B’ team scored a 25-21 victory over North Mahaska on Monday, Jan. 11.
It was a team win after a gritty comeback. We got down early 6-0, but we buckled down and started doing the little things better. We shot 10 for 31 overall and 2 for 5 from three.
Our shot selection was very good. We attacked well and made good decisions on kick-outs. Ball control is something that we will work on so we can limit the turnovers.
We need to work on free throws a little bit (3 for 14) but it shows that we did a good job getting to the bucket.
We won the rebounding battle grabbing 28 compared to 26 for North Mahaska. We gave up too many offensive boards and that let them hang around. We’ve just got to get a bit tougher and have the mentality that when the ball goes up we are going to come down with it.
Defensively, after the slow start, we did a real good job. When you hold them to four single-digit quarters we are going to be in a lot of games.
I am very proud of how we pressured the ball and forced turnovers. We made them feel uncomfortable and forced some bad decisions which led to points for us. Overall, there was a lot of improvement from game 1.
Individual Stats:
Scoring: Broox Stockman: 11 pts on 4 for 11 shooting (1-1 from three) 2-9 from the Free Throw line. Kiyren Jurgensen: 6 pts on 2 for 4 shooting (1-3 from three) 1-3 from the Free Throw line. Isaac Wedgewood: 4 pts on 2 for 2 shooting. Luke Brennan: 4 pts on 2 for 5 shooting (0-1 from three).
Rebounds: Briar Simpson: 5, Broox Stockman: 5, Isaac Wedgewood: 5, Spencer Ross: 4, Luke Brennan: 3,Kiyren Jurgensen: 3, Lars Taylor: 2, Weston Young: 1.
Assists: Blake Smith: 1
Steals: Broox Stockman: 4, Spencer Ross: 3, Luke Erselius: 2.
Blocks: Luke Brennan: 4, Broox Stockman: 2, Luke Erselius: 1, Spencer Ross: 1.