Consistency proved once again the Achilles’ heel for the Iola Mustangs’ after a second quarter slump halted their momentum in a 60-53 loss to the Santa Fe Trail Chargers Tuesday.
Iola’s losing streak hit four games Tuesday, which is especially galling to Iola coach Luke Bycroft considering each loss was by fewer than 10 points.
“We just laid down in the second quarter. We didn’t do anything well,” Bycroft said. “We didn’t play for each other. We played selfishly. When things weren’t easy, we stopped doing what we needed to do on both ends of the court. We changed that in the second half, but we had dug too big of a hole by then.”
The Mustangs did not lack for offensive production with three players reaching double-digit scoring. Junior guard Austin Crooks and sophomore forward Mosiah Fawson tied for second in scoring with 13 points each.
Crooks got the Mustangs rolling early, opening the contest with a pair of quick field goals, followed by a jumper from junior forward Keegan Hill and a 3-pointer from sophomore forward Reed Clift, capping off a 9-2 run.
The Chargers, however, did not stay down for long.
“Basketball is a team game,” Bycroft said. “You have to play the whole game as a team and we didn’t do that.”
A drive by Hill kicked off the second quarter with a drive to the basket, but when senior guard Nick Bauer scored Iola’s next bucket on a jumper, Santa Fe had already mounted a 23-13 lead.
Iola played catch-up from there, trailing by 15 points at halftime.
But the Chargers were not out of danger yet.
Iola matched Santa Fe shot for shot in the third quarter as Hill posted 10 of his team-leading 18 points. His streak continued in the fourth quarter, but it was Fawson, who spearheaded a 20-9 run late in the contest.
“We started playing with some defensive urgency,” Bycroft said. “We rebounded. We didn’t change anything as far as strategy. We just did things better.”
Hill opened the third quarter picking up six the hard way after drawing a foul on a pair of drives to the basket, then following them up with successful free throws. Iola chipped away at Santa Fe’s lead on shots from Hill, Bauer and Crooks until a Fawson drive and a follow-up free-throw pulled Iola within two possessions with the Chargers ahead 57-51, which was as close as Iola would get.
With the loss, the Mustangs fell to 8-10 overall and 3-5 in the Pioneer League while the Chargers improved to 11-5 and 6-2 in league play. Bauer finished the night with a team-leading eight assists and six rebounds. Crooks and senior forward Brennan Coffield tied for second in rebounds with five each.
The Mustangs return to the hardwood Friday, when they face rival Chanute. Although no longer conference foes, the rivalry between the Mustangs and Comets remains healthy.
“It’s a big rivalry. It used to be a league game, but they have been our biggest rival since forever,” Bycroft said. “They still look at it that way and so do we. Our boys want to win that game, and those Chanute boys don’t want to let us up for air. They want to beat us by 30.”
