DES MOINES – A rotating, stifling zone defense by Montezuma confounded a taller opponent, and the Braves pulled away in the second half for a 75-50 win over Martensdale-St. Marys in opening round action of the Class 1A state tournament Monday morning, March 9.
Montezuma led 30-27 at halftime, but outscored the Blue Devils 45-23 in the second half.
UPSET ALERT! – The Braves will play again at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the semifinals. Their opponent: 19-7 Wapsie Valley, the #8 seed, which scored a 49-45 win over top-seeded Lake Mills in Monday’s second game.
Montezuma showed a little more patience on offense in the second half, and also put the ball into Trey Shearer’s hands more often.
Shearer scored 24 points in all, and after not shooting a free throw in the first half, the Braves went 17-for-24 from the line in the second half.
Eddie Burgess had a huge game with 19 points and led the Braves to a 30-28 advantage in rebounds against a 6-10, 6-4 and 6-3 front line.
Brayden Arendt scored 13 for Montezuma and Masin Shearer had 10.
Isaac Gavin, the 6-10 post player for Martensdale-St. Marys, led his team with 12 points, but scored just two in the second half.
Trey Baker, a 6-4 forward and a 17 points a game scorer for the Blue Devils, was limited to four, on a pair of first half baskets.
Montezuma shot 56 percent from the field, to 37 percent by Martensdale-St. Marys, which finished with a record of 23-4.
The Braves move on at 24-2. Monday’s win guarantees that Montezuma will play two more games in the state tournament.
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SCORE BY QUARTERS
Martensdale-St. Marys 14 13 9 14 – 50
Montezuma 18 12 25 20 – 75
MARTENSDALE-ST. MARYS – Jack Franey 2-8, 0-0, 2, 5. Carson Elbert 3-10, 2-2, 4, 9. Hogan Franey 3-10, 0-0, 4, 8. Trey Baker 2-11, 0-0, 1, 4. Isaac Gavin 6-8, 0-2, 3, 12. Troy Holt 1-3, 0-0, 2, 3. Gavin Stott 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Derek Kleve 0-2, 0-0, 0, 0. Brooks Trom 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. JT Archibald 4-7, 1-4, 2, 9. Dylan Higens 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Matt Hughes 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Tyler Baker 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Baize Gibson 0-0, 0-0, 0,0. Cael Reynolds 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS – 21-63, 3-8, 19, 50.
MONTEZUMA (75) – Brayden Arendt 5-8, 1-3, 1, 13. Masin Shearer 3-7, 2-3, 1, 10. Cole Watts f2-8, 1-2, 3, 5. Trey Shearer 8-13, 6-6, 2, 24. Eddie Burgess 6-7, 7-10, 1, 19. Brydon Henning 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Connor Van Zee 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Joey Kercheval 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Maguire DeJong 1-1, 0-0, 0, 3. Colton Benson 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Owen Cook 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Gavin Strong 0-0, 1-2, 0, 1. Brody Chidester 0-0,0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS – 25-44, 18-26, 8, 75.
Line score legend: Field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Turnovers: MSM: 9, Montezuma 11.
Rebounds: MSM 29 (Baker 8, Gavin 7, Holt 3, Archibald 3, J. Franey 2, Elbert 2, Trom 1, team 3); Montezuma 35 (Burgess 14, Watts 4, T. Shearer 4, Chidester 3, Arendt 2, Cook 2, M. Shearer 1, Van Zee 1, Kercheval 1, team 3).
Three-point goals: MSM: 5-30 (J. Franey 1-2, Elbert 1-8, H. Franey 2-7, Baker 0-4, Gavin 0-1, Holt 1-2, Kleve 0-2, Higens 0-3, Reynolds 0-1).
Assists: MSM 13 (J. Franey 7, Elbert 4, H. Franey 1, Kleve 1); Montezuma 14 (Burgess 6, T. Shearer 3, M. Shearer 2, Arendt 1, Watts 1, Strong 1).
Technical foul: MSM (Elbert).
Steals: MSM: 7 (J. Franey 4, H. Franey 1, Reynolds 1); Montezuma 4 (Arendt 1, M. Shearer 1, Watts 1, T. Shearer 1).
Blocks: MSM 0; Montezuma 2 (Burgess 2).