Trey Shearer’s basket with seven seconds to play gave Montezuma a 53-51 victory over Keota Tuesday night (2/23) and the Class 1A District 11 championship. The game was tied six times and there were unofficially 13 lead changes. It was the close game you would expect from two highly-regarded teams; Montezuma is ranked 6th in the state in Class 1A and Keota is 9th. Montezuma Coach Derrick Dengler gave credit to Keota.
“We came out and we had some sloppy turnovers and things and let them stay in the ballgame. So, all the credit to Keota. I thought they were really, really solid and we were just fortunate to make a bucket at the end of the game.”
Cole Watts had 20 points to lead Montezuma; Luke Hammen had 22 for Keota. Keota’s season ends with a 20-3 record. Montezuma is now 21-2 for the season. The Braves will take on Mount Ayr Saturday night (2/27) in Knoxville for the Substate 6 title and a place in the State 1A basketball tournament.
