Tournament time is in full swing in the area, and in boys’ basketball in Class 1A, Montezuma continued to show their dominance in District 11.
The Braves mopped the floor with Wayne in the District 11 Semifinals at their home gym Tuesday night, beating the Falcons, 61-37.
It was a sluggish start for the Braves, but they heated up toward the end of the first quarter to take a five-point lead into the second stanza. That is where the separation began, as the dynamic duo of Brody McKeag and Dakota Strong continued to get open looks and got to the rim at will. In the second quarter alone, Monte would outscore Wayne by 11 points, and they would coast to the finish from there.
Logan Price ended up having the best game for the Braves, scoring a team-high 17 points and bringing down 7 boards. McKeag wouldn’t have his best shooting night, but still managed to get 15 points to go along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Strong had 12, all in the first half, but he made a big difference on the defensive end, as he gathered 5 steals.
Wayne was led by senior Trent Moore, who had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Falcons end their season at 11-13.
Montezuma now looks ahead to a rematch with Keota in the District 11 Final. The two clubs played a thrilling game back on January 12th in Montezuma, with the Braves coming out victorious, 63-57.
That game will be in Wellman at Mid-Prairie High School. The victor will be just one win away from qualifying for the 2016 Boys’ Basketball State Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
You can hear the action Thursday night on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, the KMZN mobile app, and radiokmzn.com, starting at 6:45 PM with the pregame show. The tip-off will be at 7 PM.