LuLu's       Consignments         321 E. Main Street           Montezuma, IA     next to Remedy Drug   641-623-5858 (LuLu)

Braves play 'their' game and win 58-15
Jan. 5, 2012

Montezuma had a winless Tri-County basketball team in front of it, "but our focus was on betting better, and we did that," said Braves coach Derek Schulte.

Montezuma came out charging, hit the Trojans with a 28-6 first quarter, and chugged in with a 58-15 victory on Friday evening, Jan. 5. The Braves led by 35 points at halftime and as long as they maintained at least that margin, the clock was continuous during the second half.

Montezuma made four three-point baskets in the first quarter, equaling the number they made all night in a loss at HLV.

"We were attacking, we got out in transition, got good ball movement and good shots from inside the arc and out," Schulte said.

"The key tonight was we needed to play solid Montezuma basketball and we did," the coach said.

The Braves shot 42 percent from the field which included 6-for-23 from behind the arc.

The Trojans (0-9), went down on the list of SICL teams that have had trouble containing the dribble drive penetration of Braves point guard Stephen Vavroch, who poured in 20 first half points as Montezuma sped off to a 42-7 lead by intermission.

"We had just 6 turnovers at halftime and we forced 16 during that same time. It was nice to turn another team over," said Schulte.

"Our guys played with great effort," the coach said. "It's a little tough to play with different combinations with a continuous clock because the time goes by so quickly," Schulte said. "But our guys played hard."

Tri-County shot just 18 percent from the floor on 6 makes in 34 attempts. The Trojans were 1-for-20 on three-point tries.

Vavroch didn't play much after halftime and finished with 21 points for the Braves, who are 6-5 overall and 5-4 against the league. Sophomore post player Kane Barker had 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Vavroch had 4 assists and Zach Gibson had 4 steals.

Wing guard Tyler Swenson had a 9-point game for the Braves, while forward Nathan Wheeler scored 7 points and hauled down 7 rebounds.

Spencer Steinke scored 6 points to lead Tri-County.

"We had a positive night offensively," said Schulte. "We're looking forward to playing an unbeaten Keota team on Monday."

WATCH IT! - at 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on Local Channel 3, with Keith Brake and Zach Price bringing home the action.

NEXT UP - The Braves host Keota on Monday, and travel to Iowa Valley on Tuesday.

SCORE BY QUARTERS
Tri-County      6    1    7     1  -  15
Montezuma   28   14   10   6  -  58

TRI-COUNTY (15): Nick Watts 1, 0-1, 2, 3. Justin DeKleine 0, 0-0, 2, 0. Kyle Leer 0, 1-2, 1, 1. Levi Ryals 0, 0-0, 1, 0. Austin Blythe 0, 0-0, 1, 0. William Corrick 2, 0-2, 2, 4. Adam Gragg 0, 0-0, 1, 0. Spencer Steinke 3, 0-0, 1, 6. Hunter Adney 0, 0-0, 0, 0. Chase Sellers 0, 0-0, 0, 0. Tyler Lally 0, 0-0, 0, 0. Jake Brumbaugh 0, 0-0, 0, 0. Tate Shipley 0, 1-2, 0, 1. TOTALS: 6, 2-7, 11, 15.

MONTEZUMA (58): Brady Losure 1, 0-0, 0, 2. Dillon Wilhelm 0, 0-0, 2, 0. Zach Gibson 1, 0-0, 1, 2. Codi Townsend 1, 0-0, 0, 3. Tyler Swenson 4, 0-0, 0, 9. Dallas Peavy 0, 0-0, 1, 0. Kane Barker 4, 1-1, 2, 10. Coleton Tompkins 1, 0-0, 2, 2. Colton Talbert 0, 1-2, 0, 1. Stephen Vavroch 8, 3-5, 2, 21. Nathan Wheeler 3, 0-0, 0, 7. Alex Brownell 0, 0-0, 0, 0. Matt Armstrong 0, 0-0, 0, 0. Niall Lyons 0, 1-2, 1, 1. TOTALS: 23, 6-10, 11, 58.

Three-point goals: Tri-County 1 (Watts 1). Montezuma 6 (Vavroch 2, Townsend 1, Swenson 1, Wheeler 1, Barker 1).
Fouled out: none.
Turnovers: Tri-County 18, Montezuma 7.
Braves rebound leaders: Wheeler 7, Barker 7, Peavy 5, Tompkins 4, Armstrong 4.
Assist leader: Vavroch 4.
Steals leader: Gibson 4.
Line score legend: Field goals made, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.

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