Scott Monday, their head coach said. FORT SCOTT ALSO prevailed, 53-30, in the junior varsity contest and 66-47 in the C team matchup.
But they fell short in terms of execution, particularly down the stretch, as Fort Scott took control with a 15-4 run to seal a 49-37 victory.
The loss is Iola’s third in a row and drops the Mustangs to 7-9 on the season.
“They hit some big shots, and we failed to hit shots on a couple of times when the opportunity presented itself,” Mustang head coach Bill Peeper said. “It wasn’t an effort thing, which is good, because that was our problem (Friday). Tonight was just an execution thing.”
The sour ending spoiled what had been a spirited Mustang comeback.
Iola erased an early 22-12 deficit with a 14-2 run, capped by early second-half baskets by Trent Latta and Fryendz Wallace. Wallace’s bucket at the 6:55 mark of the third gave the Mustangs their first lead of the game, 26-24.
The teams traded leads twice and had two ties in the third quarter, the last coming when Latta drained a 3-pointer with a minute left in the period to knot the score at 31-31.
But the momentum shifted as the fourth quarter began.
Garin Sinn’s 3-point play two minutes into the final period gave Fort Scott a 34-31 advantage. Kaleb DeLaTorre followed with 3-pointers on the Tigers’ next two possessions, and the lead suddenly was at nine.
Tyler Powelson and Wallace scored buckets on Iola’s next two possessions to cut the deficit to 42-35, but three straight empty possessions — each of which featured hurried Iola shots against the Tiger’s towering post players — allowed Fort Scott to pull away.
DeLaTorre’s driving layup, followed by Mason Knopp’s 3-point play and Jacob Bradbury’s two free throws put the Tigers up, 49-35 with under a minute left.
“I don’t know why we play so dead-headed at times,” Peeper said. “I don’t know if it’s the moment or the situation, but we get better in some areas, but regress in others. We were intimidated by their size, which was disappointing. We should have used it as a challenge to ourselves.”
Peeper praised the effort of Powelson and Wallace for their aggressiveness.
“Tyler did a good job attacking the basket in the first half,” he said. “And Fryendz showed us a whole new side tonight.”
Powelson led the way with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Wallace had 11 rebounds and 12 tipped passes. He also racked up seven “floor points,” or occasions when a player dives onto the floor in an attempt to get possession.
“But our effort has to be more balanced,” Peeper said. “We can’t have only two guys doing this.”
Peeper noted that Wallace was the only such player to register a floor point.
Latta followed with nine points and two steals. Bryan Mueller had five rebounds and two assists. Tyler McIntosh also had two assists.
DeLa Torre drained five 3-points en route to a game-high 19 for the Tigers. Sinn added 16.
Gus Hopkins and Kohl Endicott scored six points each to pace Iola’s JV. Brett Taylor, Alex Kelly and Adam Peterson scored four apiece. Travis Hermstein followed with three, Grant Dela Cruz had two and Ben Cooper scored one.
Isaiah Fawson’s 14 points led the Mustang C team. Chase Regehr added 10, Mason Ingle eight, Braden Plumlee seven, Joel Zimmerman five, Gage Cleaver two and Rhett Allen one.
Iola returns to action tonight at home against Prairie View.
Fort Scott (11-13-7-18—49)
Iola (8-14-9-6—37)
Fort Scott (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): DeLa Torre 2/5-0-2-19, Brown 0-0-1-0, Bradbury 0/1-2-3-5, Fink 1-0-1-2, Sinn 6-4-2-16, Knopp 2-1-1-5, Olin 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 12/6-7-10-49.
Iola (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): 3/1-0-0-9, Mueller 0-0-3-0, Wallace 2-0-4-4, McIntosh 1-0-3-2, Zimmerman 1-0-2-2, Kauth 2-1-1-5, Powelson 7-1-2-15, Peterson 0-0-2-0. TOTALS: 16/1-2-17-37.
Fort Scott’s late surge sinks Mustangs
