Braves win close games to become tournament champions

by Bryan Stanford

The JV boys basketball team hosted the annual Montezuma JV Tournament and came out victorious. The four teams that competed this year were Belle Plaine, BGM, HLV and Montezuma. 

The first round the Braves started the game off with a lot of energy and defeated the Belle Plaine Plainesmen, 42-40. 

Offensively, The JV squad jumped out to an early lead and continued to lead, 29-21, through halftime.

 The leading scorers were Zach Gibson with 12 points, and Coleton Tompkins with 10 points. Defensively, the Braves played well and held the Plainesmen under twenty points in the second half. 

The JV team had foul trouble and gave Belle Plaine a chance to tie with 0.4 seconds left on the clock, but Kane Barker’s final basket for the Braves sealed the deal.

After the Braves won their first round game, they advanced to the championship game where they would face BGM, who had beaten HLV earlier. 

In the championship game, the Braves defeated the Bears 45-41. Until this year, Montezuma had not won the JV tournament in over five years.

Offensively, the Braves attacked aggressively and with a sense of urgency, while Tompkins with 17 points and Baker with 15 points led the team in scoring. The JV squad was able to reach the free throw line 17 times throughout the game.

Defensively, the Braves were solid in the first half, holding the Bears to 11 total points. The JV team was also able to stay out of foul trouble.