L-S hoops fall to conference rival Montezuma

MONTEZUMA — The Lynnville-Sully boys basketball team overcame a first-quarter deficit with a big second quarter, but Montezuma pulled away with a six-point surplus in the fourth during a 62-55 road loss on Tuesday.

The Hawks trailed by four after one quarter, led by one at halftime and trailed by one after three before being outscored 15-9 in the fourth of the South Iowa Cedar League contest.

“I thought the boys did a good job of executing our game plan,” L-S head boys basketball coach Nick Harthoorn said. “We did a lot of things well. We gave ourselves a chance with the effort given on the boards. We have to find a way to play a little better basketball in the fourth quarter.”

Carson Maston’s double-double led the Hawks and Dawson James put in 19 points in the loss.

The Hawks couldn’t overcome a 4-of-18 night from 3-point range and didn’t have starter Will Van Vark or reserve Cameyon James for the game due to illnesses.

Montezuma made half of its shots from the floor, had a nine-point advantage from 3 and six-point surplus from the free-throw line.

Maston led the Hawks with a career-high 21 points and he grabbed 13 rebounds. He was 2-of-6 from 3.

James added 19 points, seven rebounds and two assists, Jack Bowlin tallied nine points, four rebounds and two assists, Hendrick Lowry totaled five assists and two steals and Sawyer Veldhuizen chipped in three points and five boards.

Connor Deal dished out three assists and grabbed two boards and Ethan Dunsbergen pulled down two rebounds.

The Hawks (12-4, 8-4) shot 42.6 percent from the floor, made 5-of-9 from the foul line, had a 38-24 advantage in points in the paint and turned the ball over 15 times.

Brady Boulton led the Braves (13-2, 11-2) with 29 points, seven boards and five assists. Montezuma was 7-of-21 from 3, buried 11-of-14 from the foul line and committed eight turnovers.

The Braves won their 12th straight game, and the loss snapped Lynnville-Sully’s six-game win streak. Montezuma scored the season sweep of the Hawks, too.

GIRLS

Montezuma 58, Lynnville-Sully 48

The Class 1A No. 7 Bravettes made 12 treys and Lynnville-Sully couldn’t overcome 23 turnovers during a 58-48 road loss on Tuesday.

The 1A No. 10 Hawks led by two after one but were outscored 31-22 in the second half of the SICL loss.

“The girls battled hard tonight,” L-S head girls basketball coach Jerry Hulsing said. “We had a couple of defensive rotations we didn’t get to or were late, and they made us pay for each one. Our offense in the second half had stretches where we didn’t score, which was the difference in the game.”

The Hawks (13-4, 9-3) shot 47 percent from the floor, made 5-of-13 from 3 and connected on 9-of-14 from the free-throw line.

Kate Harthoorn led Lynnville-Sully with 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and four steals. She was 4-of-8 from 3 and now leads 1A with 53 made treys this season.

Brooke Harthoorn matched a career high with 10 points and added three rebounds, Tatum Huyser totaled six points, three rebounds and three assists and Breah Lowry tallied four points, two rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Isabelle Vos pitched in four points and four boards, Ava Brummel contributed four points and three rebounds and Brilynn Tice registered three points and three rebounds.

All four Lynnville-Sully losses this season came against ranked teams.

Claire Erselius led the Bravettes (11-4, 11-1) with 17 points, while Vivian Cook produced 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting from 3. Erselius made 5-of-11 from long range.

Ellen Cook had 10 points, seven assists and five steals for the hosts, while Sydnee Burgess grabbed 10 boards.

The Bravettes shot 46 percent from the floor and made 12-of-27 from 3.

Montezuma has won 11 of its past 12 games overall, completed the season sweep against the Hawks and is 16-1 against Lynnville-Sully since 2017.