The top teams in their respective divisions of the South Iowa Cedar league met up in Keota on Tuesday and it was the No. 4 ranked Montezuma boys that handed the Eagles their first conference loss of the season with a 76-68 victory.

The Eagles showed resiliency in the first half by falling behind 24-11 at the end of eight minutes, but quickly storming back to trail just 31-29 at the break. The deficit inched closer to one at the end of three, but the Braves made a few more plays down the stretch to hang on in the end. It was Trey Shearer’s night for Montezuma with a game-high 38 points on 13 of 18 shooting. JD Stout paced the Eagles with 28 points, Luke Hammen had 13, and Carson Sprouse added 12. Keota (9-2, 8-1) still controls their destiny in the east division with a date against fellow one conference loss Belle Plaine looming next week. Down to just five players due to injuries, the Keota girls never found their footing against the No. 1 ranked Braves falling 58-16. They drop to 1-11 on the season.

Both Keota squads are back at it tomorrow against English Valleys.