The Iola Mustangs silenced the Anderson County Bulldogs with a 67-33 victory Friday.
After chiding his team for letting up too soon on Anderson County in last month’s loss in the War on 54 Basketball Tournament championship, Iola coach Luke Bycroft credited his team for keeping the pressure on through the entire contest.
“Tonight, this is who we are supposed to be. We’ve been waiting for this moment,” Bycroft said. “We played together offensively and defensively. It’s a good feeling, but it’s not surprising. We’ve been waiting for this.”
Early explosions from senior guard Nick Bauer and sophomore forward Mosiah Fawson put Iola up early. Anderson County could not keep pace with Iola’s 20 points in the first quarter. The Bulldogs produced only single digits in each quarter aside from a 16-point uptick in the third.
“We had so much energy, so much fight tonight,” Bauer said. “We were hitting shots and fighting for every rebound. On defense, we stressed being physical and played great.”
After going into halftime ahead 35-12, the Mustangs kept pouring on the points from there. Sophomore forward Reed Clift came out hot, scoring a trio of second-quarter field goals with another pair of field goals and a fourth-quarter 3-pointer for a team-leading 16 points. Although pleased with his production, Clift was equally pleased with what happened in the paint.
“Coach drew up an excellent game plan, and we worked as hard as we could,” Clift said. “That’s what separated us. We wanted it more and executed. Coach has been telling me all year to use the glass. I worked on it at practice and it elevated my confidence.”
With the win, Iola improved to 10-11 overall and 5-5 in Pioneer League play. They return to the hardwood on the road Tuesday against Osawatomie, which presents them with another opportunity to avenge a previous loss. However, with the postseason around the corner and every game potentially moving them up or down the tournament seeding, Bycroft believes Iola has higher priorities than revenge.
“It’s the last one that counts toward regional, so we need to finish out strong and do the best we can. It’s going to be a really big game for us, so we’ll need a great weekend of rest to take care of our bodies, then have a great practice to get ready.”
Tip-off will follow the 6 p.m. girls contest.
Anderson County withstands Iola late
Free throws in the final minutes allowed Anderson County to escape with a 56-48 victory over the Iola Mustangs Friday.
Despite a strong effort from Iola, including six 3-pointers from junior guard Brooklyn Holloway, the Mustang girls could not close the gap in time.
“Brooklyn and Haidyn were not going to quit. They were not going to be denied,” said Iola coach Emily Sigg while referencing Haidyn Desmarteau’s 17-point performance and Holloway’s team-leading 24 points. “It was on both ends of the court. We kept telling them, your defense is feeding your offense. And they just kept going and going.”
A hot start by Holloway and Desmarteau gave Iola a 16-13 lead after the first quarter, but the Mustangs could not maintain their momentum. The Mustangs scored nine points in the second and third quarters and had a 14-point uptick in the fourth.
With the loss, the Mustangs fell to 5-14 overall and 3-7 in the Pioneer League. They play Osawatomie Tuesday. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
