The Iola Mustangs beat the Wellsville Eagles 65-61 in Monday night action. The win helped pad the Mustangs’ January victory over the Eagles, which snapped a five-year losing streak.
In that January contest, the game came down to a desperation shot by Iola junior guard Austin Crooks.
On Monday, Crooks was not going to take any chances of ruining Senior Night for his teammates.
“I just had to move more, try not to reach and keep my arms up,” said Crooks, who had a team-leading 14 points. “I knew I couldn’t get that last foul. We were moving the ball really well, and when you move the ball well the lane opens up, so we just started attacking. This gives us a lot of momentum for Thursday.”
Senior forward Brennan Coffield and Crooks got the Mustangs going with a pair of field goals each along with 3-pointers from sophomore guard Colton Thompson and sophomore forward Reed Clift, giving Iola a 19-16 lead after the first break.
“We had to get off to a good start, and being down early is not fun,” Coffield said. “It was good to get going early. Especially going into substate, we know we can rely on the entire team to distribute the ball evenly and move the ball well.”
With Crooks limited in the second and third quarter, Wellsville rallied to a 32-30 lead before halftime. Strong rebounding in the paint, as well as 3-pointers from Coffield and junior forward Keegan Hill, as well as a pair of field goals by senior guard Nick Bauer allowed Iola to retake the lead 48-40 by the fourth quarter.
“We showed up to compete, to fight and against a team like that, that’s all you can ask,” Coach Luke Bycroft said. “Wellsville plays hard, and they’ll compete all night. We had to match that, and that’s what carried us through.”
After quietly accumulating eight points before the fourth quarter, sophomore forward Mosiah Fawson’s final five points mattered most. He combined for 10 points with Clift with the pair both hitting a field goal and a 3-pointer to keep it a three-score game in the final minutes of regulation.
With the win, the Mustangs end the regular season with a 10-12 record and 5-6 in the Pioneer League. Barring an upset, Iola seniors Coffield and Bauer ended their final game inside the IHS gymnasium No. 1 and 2 in rebounds. Coffield had seven boards while Bauer had five. Bauer also had a team-leading eight assists.
“It’s great. It’s a good feeling,” Coffield said. “It’s bittersweet, but good to get the win.”
The Mustangs enter substate tournament action Thursday on the road against the Osage City Indians (11-12) at 6 p.m. The Mustangs lost to the Indians 54-37 in November.
Coach Bycroft likes how his team matches up this time around.
“We have a lot more guys scoring now than the first time we played them,” Bycroft said. “Back then, we were relying on one or two guys to put the ball offensively. We’ve come together as a team. We’ve been up and down, but we’re in a good place. I like the match-up.”
