Eagles Drop Heartbreaker to Braves in Williamsburg

WILLIAMSBURG – For 31 minutes and 53 seconds, Montezuma and Keota looked to be evenly matched with each other.

Montezuma’s record improved to 21-2 and Keota finished their season at 20-3.

Senior Luke Hammen led the Eagles with 22 points. Senior Carson Sprouse also finished in double digits with 15 on the night. Senior Brady Duwa grabbed eight rebounds and senior Bryce Greiner pulled down five.

Cole Watts electrified the Braves offense with 20 points. Montezuma big man Eddie Burgess had 14 points and pulled down 17 rebounds.

Montezuma started the game on an 8-2 run before Luke Hammen had a 7-0 run to bring Keota to a 9-8 lead. The teams would yo-yo until the end of the first quarter when Montezuma found themselves ahead 15-13.

Luke Hammen’s deep 3-point basket would put Keota up 19-15, but Montezuma would be there for every basket and the teams went into halftime tied at 26.

Hammen would hit two free throws at the 4:48 mark in the third quarter to put Keota up 32-28. 

Duwa picked up his second foul with 2:35 remaining in the third quarter and Cole Watts’s two free throws put the Braves up 37-34. The scoreline would hold until the 1:32 mark when Carson Sprouse went ½ at the line.

Montezuma would hold the 37-35 margin at the end of the third quarter, too.

The largest margin in the final quarter would be five points for the Braves, 47-42 to be exact.

Keota clawed back and Carson Sprouse tied the game at 51 with 26 seconds left.

Trey Shearer’s running layup with seven seconds left solidified the Montezuma Braves as the Class 1A District 11 champion, escaping with a 53-51 victory.

Keota finished 20-for-44 (45.5%) from the field and the Braves finished 21-of-46 (45.7%). Montezuma had a 29-21 advantage in rebounds. The Eagles made 5-of-16 (31.2%) of their 3-point baskets and the Braves finished 4-of-19 (21.1%).

Keota won the SICL East and tied Montezuma for the South Iowa Cedar League title. Both teams finished with a 15-1 conference record.