BURLINGTON — After an uplifting win over the weekend, the Iola Mustangs fell to earth on Monday, losing 64-43 to the Bulldogs of Independence in the fifth-place game of the 2016 Burlington Invitational Tournament.
Aside from an energetic spurt early in the fourth quarter, in which Iola scored 8 straight points (carving Indy’s lead down to 13), the night belonged to the Bulldogs.
The team from Independence started out hot (racing out to an 11-0 run); they were hot in the middle (going on a 10-0 tear to open the second half); and as for their late-game play — hot (one painful memory, for example, has 6’6” senior Will Satchel bounding the length of the court for a crowning slam in the final minute of action).
To the Mustangs’ credit, though, head coach Jay Applegate’s crew never acquiesced. Sharp-shooting junior Isaiah Fawson had 11 points; same for sophomore Ethan Holloway. Junior Ben Cooper scored 6 and sophomore Evan Sigg ended the evening with 5.
But none of the Mustangs’ 43 points arrived on a platter. The Bulldogs applied a full-court press for much of the game — with intended effect. Iola frequently got its offense in a twist, forcing more turnovers than is customary for Applegate’s squad. Independence got fat feasting on a steady diet of Mustang miscues for much of the night, converting a handful of steals into easy fastbreak points.
But if there’s a figure who will haunt the outer edges of the Mustangs’ dreams after Monday night, his name is Jalynn Lawrie. The 6-3 senior was superb on both ends of the floor, accumulating steal after steal, and working an inside-out game that netted him 26 points on the night.
The Mustangs (2-10) resume regular season play on Friday when they travel to Chanute to face the Blue Comets.
Indy strikes early to defeat Mustangs
