NEW SHARON – This game between the Montezuma and North Mahaska boys had a lot of moving parts.
Montezuma had it gears a little more in sync in the first and fourth quarters of a 57-50 victory over the Warhawks on Tuesday, Feb. 1.
The result left the Braves on the cusp of an undisputed South Iowa Cedar League championship.
The Braves have a one-game lead with one to play. That one is Thursday at Tri-County.
Guard Masin Shearer dropped in 22 points, 11 in each half, and wing man Garrett Watts scored 12 as the Braves took their record out to 15-3 overall, and 13-2 against the league.
“We made enough plays to hold off a tough North Mahaska team,” said Montezuma Coach Derrick Dengler.
North Mahaska and the Braves had identical 14-3 and 12-2 records entering this game.
In the first half, it was the Braves dropping in eight three-point shots, staking themselves to a 36-27 halftime lead.
The Warhawks caught up early in the fourth, but it was back-to-back run-outs and resulting layups that gave the Braves a 48-42 lead and some working capital with five minutes to play. When the Braves needed a defensive stop, they got one.
“I have been very proud how we have guarded all season,” Dengler said. “The boys have taken tremendous pride in it and it has shown.”
Montezuma worked patiently on offense after that, came up with some big offensive rebounds, and got itself to the line. There, the Braves sank 9 of 12 free throw attempts, and eased on out to the seven-point win.
Gavin Strong scored 12 points for the Braves and Owen Cook had 9.
Garrett Watts scored 6 – on a pair of treys, one a buzzer-beater just before halftime. Eddie Burgess also scored 6 and was a menace defensively on the inside and on the defensive boards. Burgess scored just 6 points, but grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked five shots.
Nik Kotar scored just 2, but had 4 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.
The Braves had been defeated 50-34 when the teams played in Montezuma on Dec. 24.
For the Warhawks, it was a second straight loss as they fell to Lynnville-Sully on Friday, helping the Braves get a shot at the championship.
Montezuma limited the damage done by 6-4 Braden Steel (9 points) and 6-6 Nash Smith (7).
Lane Harmon, 6-1, found enough openings to score 13 points, but 10 of those came by halftime. Foul problems and Montezuma’s defense limited him after that.
Ethan Hoffman, 5-11, scored 7 for the Warhawks. All of the mentioned North Mahaksa players are juniors.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Montezuma 18 18 6 15 – 57
North Mahaska 11 16 13 10 – 50
MONTEZUMA (57) – Gavin Strong 4-6, 2-2, 4, 12. Masin Shearer 7-12, 5-7, 1, 22. Nik Kotar 1-6, 0-0, 2, 2. Owen Cook 4-8, 0-0, 0, 9. Eddie Burgess 2-6, 2-4, 3, 6. Garrett Watts 2-3, 0-0, 0, 6. Maguire De Jong 0-2, 0-0, 1, 0. Colton Benson 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0. TOTALS – 20-44, 9-13, 12, 57.
NORTH MAHASKA (50) – TOTALS 18-46, 8-14, 14, 50.
Line score legend: Field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Turnovers: Montezuma 6, North Mahaska 8.
Three-pointers: Montezuma 8-20 (Shearer 3-7, Strong 2-3, Watts 2-3, Cook 1-3, Kotar 0-4); North Mahaska 6-14.
Rebounds: Montezuma 25 (Burgess 16, Kotar 4, Strong 2, Shearer 1, Cook 1, Benson 1); North Mahaska 30.
Assists: Montezuma 10 (Shearer 4, Kotar 2, Burgess 2, Strong 1, Cook 1).
Steals: Montezuma 3 (Shearer 2, Cook 1).
Blocks: Montezuma 7 (Burgess 5, Kotar 2); North Mahaska 2.