Braves struggle with L-S’ physicality

Brady Boulton, with ball, ponders his next move.

SULLY – There are reasons the Lynnville-Sully boys at 14-1 in basketball and ranked 10th in Class 1A.

The Hawks move. They flow. They get results.

These teams met for the second time on Monday, Jan. 22. The result for the Braves was the same: A loss (55-38). But, the game was a bit different: The Hawks won first that one 86-58.

That’s a lot of points for a Montezuma team to yield.

Braves Coach Derrick Dengler sees a way forward.

I think the biggest positive was we held them about 30 points below the first time we played them, and held their post to just five points,” Dengler said.

Offensively, we struggled with their physicality. But, when we did move the ball and didn’t turn it over, we found some really good looks. We just struggled to finish them,” Dengler said.

Garrett Watts on a run-out against the Hawks. (Marie Boulton photo).

The Braves were hampered by 21 turnovers. They didn’t shoot very well, either, .286 from the field on 10 fewer shots than the Hawks.

The Braves didn’t score in double figures in three of the four quarters.

They did score 15 points in the second period with Brady Boulton and Max Anderson nailing treys. Montezuma’s halftime deficit was 31-20.

But the Hawks opened the second half with a 7-0 run in the first 87 seconds. They nailed a trey and scored off a pair of steals.

Boulton led Montezuma with 17 points. Anderson was next with nine. Boulton led in assists with four.

When we put it all together,” Dengler said, “we will be a really tough team.”

The 14-1 Hawks are 11-1 in SICL play.

The Braves are 8-6 and 7-5.

UP NEXT – Montezuma’s girls and boys are at BGM on Tuesday, Jan. 23.

Max Anderson starts a drive into the lane. (Marie Boulton photo).

SCORE BY QUARTERS
Montezuma       5 15   9  9 – 38
Lynnville-Sully 15 16 15  9 – 55

MONTEZUMA (38) – Jack Erselius 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Dane Strong 1-6, 0-0, 1, 3. Briar Simpson 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. Garrett Watts 2-6, 2-4, 1, 5. David Rose 0-0, 0-0, 2, 0. Luke Brennan 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Brady Boulton 5-15, 4-6, 1, 17. Alex Black 0-0, 0-0, 3, 0. Broox Stockman 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Kohen Holland 1-5, 1-2, 2, 3. Max Anderson 3-10, 0-0, 1, 9. TOTALS – 12-42, 7-12, 12, 38.

LYNNVILLE-SULLY (58) – TOTALS – 22-52, 3-6, 15, 55.

Line score legend: field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.

Turnovers: Montezuma 21, Lynnville-Suuly 14.

Three-pointers: Montezuma 7-25 (Anderson 3.-7, Boulton 3-10, Strong 1-5, Watts 0-1, Holland 0-2); Lynnville-Sully 8-25.

Rebounds: Montezuma 27 (Watts 7, Holland 5, Strong 3, Rose 3, Boulton 3, Anderson 3, Erselius 2, Black 1); Lynnville-Sully 26.

Assists: Montezuma 7 (Boulton 4, Strong 1, Brennan 1, Anderson 1).

Steals: Montezuma 5 (Watts 2, Holland 2, Boulton 1).

Blocks: Montezuma 1 (Holland).

Deflections: Montezuma 4 (Holland 2, Watts 1, Boulton 1).