Montezuma holds off Keota

There were three separate times the Keota boys? basketball team went on a 6-0 run or better on Thursday night.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, Montezuma had every answer.

A tough first half dug a hole Keota couldn?t climb out of, as they fell to Montezuma in the district final 56-45, ending their year with a 17-7 record.

?That first half killed us,? Keota head coach Dan Stout said. ?We had too many turnovers and just fell too far behind. They were aggressive. We knew there would be a 2-3 zone and a 1-2-2 full-court press, and they had us going sideways instead of going to the basket. They were in good position. They did a nice job.?

Montezuma looked set to pull away from the onset of the game, jumping out to a 10-3 lead to start the contest, but Keota rallied to close the gap to 10-9.

Montezuma answered with a 7-0 run of its own, before the Braves? Dakota Strong rattled off a pair of his five first-half 3-pointers to help Montezuma establish a 13-point lead going into the halftime break.

Keota started the second half with a 6-0 run, but Montezuma quickly ended that, making it an 11-point game.

Keota looked to steal the momentum later in the third quarter, when Cole Stout was fouled on a 3-pointer, and converted on the four-point play. A Montezuma turnover led to a bucket from Avery Conrad (who finished the game with 12 points and 10 rebounds). Montezuma turned the ball over again, and Keota had a chance to make it a two-possession game with less than 30 seconds to play in the quarter.

A pair of costly turnovers led to two Montezuma layups, putting the Braves back in front by 13 going into the fourth.

That stretch didn?t deter the Eagles, who opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run, making it 50-42, before the Braves started hitting their free throws and preventing Keota from making any more noise.

?We had our chances,? Stout said. ?It was at 10 points for the longest time, and we had many opportunities. We just couldn?t get the foul call or the bucket, or get things to go in. We fought, got after it and did everything we needed to do. We need to hold our heads high.?

The Eagles will graduate five seniors from this year?s squad, all of whom played significant time, and earned a trip to state as sophomores, and a South Iowa Cedar League East Division title this season.

As they go, Stout was disappointed to lose them as players, but said he was proud of the people they have become.

?I talked to every one of them tonight after the game,? Stout said. ?We?ll talk more, but they have set a good foundation. Our program has been up for a long time, and we took a step back last year. These guys brought us back up, and we were the east division champs. They can?t take that away from us.

?We have three or four guys who could be academic All-State kids, and that?s the best thing about this team. I have little kids growing up, and they look up to these kids. That means a lot to me and the program.?