Keota Boys Soar Past English Valleys

KEOTA—On January 23, the Keota Eagles hosted the English Valleys Bears for a SICL conference matchup. The Eagles soared past the Bears by a final score of 80-28.

The Eagles started the game red hot, as they stormed out to a 47-11 halftime lead behind 24 first half points from senior Sawyer Stout. It took Stout only 5 minutes to tally 17 first quarter points, then added seven more in the second quarter.

The Eagles continued to keep their foot on the gas pedal in the second half, as they soared to a 80-28 victory. 

The Eagles continued to shoot the ball with extreme efficiency, as they finished the night with a team field goal percentage of 45.9%. Senior Sawyer Stout led the team with 24 points on a shooting percentage of 58.8%, while fellow senior Cole Kindred finished his night with 17 points on a shooting percentage of 63.6%.

Keota junior Billie Kindred was three points shy of his third straight double double, as he finished his night with seven points and 11 rebounds. 

Kindred spoke on his performances these past few games with, “Just trying to get the ball to my teammates, and shoot it when I am open. Get easy looks by driving to the hoop, or shooting when I am open.”

Billie is the younger brother to senior Cole Kindred, and has been playing basketball with this group of seniors his whole life. He spoke on the chemistry the team has with, “We have nine seniors, so we all know each other really well. Been playing with them since I can remember. I have a brother on the team, so it’s even easier to talk with him. We all just get along really well.”

Keota Head Coach Dan Stout described how the team kept focused amidst all the madness of the weather as, “The kid just wanted to come out on the floor and play. They focused on the task at hand. I think tonight we played very good basketball. We moved the ball a lot better than we did last night. We were trying to play too much isolation basketball, and tonight we moved the ball around. I think these guys realized that when everyone touches the ball on offense, they play harder on defense and go harder for rebounds. When everyone gets an opportunity to score, that makes a huge difference for the team.”

In the most recent IAHSAA Class 1A boys basketball rankings, the Keota Eagles jumped up to the fifth ranked team. Coach Stout spoke on the rankings with, “It is not something I worry too much about. I know he (Sawyer Stout) likes to look at that stuff. Our ultimate goal is to be #1 at the end of the year, and that is what we talk about. Right now we are in the midst of a conference battle. That is our main goal to start with right now, when the postseason comes we will look at other stuff. There is a lot of excitement around our program, and that is always exciting for the kids. You have to let them enjoy it, but hone it in when you are on the court. With our guys being seniors, I think they do a great job of that.”

The Keota boys push to 14-0 on the season, and still remain at the top of the SICL conference. They will return to action on January 26, when they visit the Tri-County Trojans.

The Bears fall to 1-15 on the season, and will return to action on January 26, when they host the Sigourney Savages.