Keota boys’ basketball has headed into the holiday season undefeated after the Eagles held on to defeat Montezuma Tuesday 55-51. Despite a brilliant 21-3 run to start the season, Keota found itself only up by nine points going into the final quarter, but even as Montezuma rallied to get closer and closer, the Eagles would be able to fend off the Braves down the stretch.

Sawyer Stout hit a pair of three-pointers and scored a team-high 18 points for Keota, while fellow senior Evan Vittetoe came close to another double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Senior point guard Cole Kindred finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots, while junior forward Billie Kindred added seven points, nine boards and five dimes to help the Eagles improve to 7-0 in the South Iowa Cedar League and 9-0 overall.

The Keota girls only trailed 12-8 after a quarter of play Tuesday, but Montezuma closed the first half on a 19-2 run to take a commanding 31-10 lead into halftime, and the Braves went on to win 60-16. Freshman Emily Conger led the Eagles in scoring with eight points, but Keota still drops to 1-5 in conference play and 1-8 overall.