Things weren’t looking too rosy for Iola High’s Mustangs Friday evening.
The basket seemingly had an invisible lid, flicking away numerous field goals and free throw attempts.
Visiting Girard opened the second half with a layup and a 3-pointer to pull ahead by seven, the largest lead either team would have all game.
Rather than fret, the Mustangs stayed with their relentless defense, attacking the Trojan ball-handlers at every opportunity.
The effort paid off, particularly when the Mustang shots started falling down the stretch.
Keyed by senior guard Trent Latta’s 18 points, including a key 3-pointer and three clutch free throws in the fourth quarter, Iola brought home a 43-37 season-opening victory.
“We weren’t pretty,” head coach Bill Peeper said. “We didn’t make it easy on ourselves by missing some easy shots and some free throws. But in the end we made enough hustle plays.”
Much like the Fillies game earlier Friday evening, Iola’s Mustangs received key contributions up and down the lineup.
“Kohl Endicott played less than a quarter, and he had three rebounds, two steals and two tips,” Peeper said. “We had several guys like that who stepped up for us.”
Defense fueled an 8-0 Mustang run that erased the seven-point deficit. Fryendz Wallace rebounded a Tyler Powelson miss for a putback to push Iola on top, 25-24, with 3 minutes left in the third.
The teams went back and forth from there.
Girard led 32-31, when Wallace pulled in a steal at midcourt. Iola worked the ball around the perimeter until Wallace drove to the basket, forcing the Trojans to collapse their defense. He dished out to an open Latta in the corner. Latta’s trey gave Iola 34-32 lead.
The Mustangs never trailed again.
Girard’s Drew Davied tied the score a the 3-minute mark.
Latta hit 1 of 2 charities to push Iola on top 35-34. The teams traded misses when the Mustangs’ Kaden Macha drove the baseline for a basket to push the lead to three.
A Trojan travel against Iola’s press led to Powelson’s basket, giving Iola 39-34 lead with 1:22 left.
Davied’s 3-pointer cut the lead to 39-37 with 49 seconds remaining.
The Trojans put Latta at the line, where he hit both with 34.5 seconds left on the clock.
The Trojans came up empty on their next possession, and a long pass over the Girard defenders gave Latta an easy layup for the final points of the game.
“We really want to do some things differently this year, including controlling the tempo to put pressure on our opponents,” Peeper said. “That doesn’t necessarily translate to a lot of points, but it did the job for us tonight. The guys are pretty worn out. They’re not completely in game shape, but they fought hard. We were relentless, which is what we’ve been stressing all year long.”
Peeper praised Latta’s efforts at both ends. He added six steals and two assists to his 18 points.
“He does whatever he can to make us go,” Peeper said. “He’s definitely a gamer.”
But the praise should be spread around, Peeper noted.
Powelson scored 11 points, while pulling in five rebounds, nabbing six steals and blocking four shots. Wallace, Macha and Endicott added three rebounds apiece. Latta and Tyler McIntosh both had two assists.
Davied scored 15 to lead Girard.
The Trojans won the junior varsity contest, 53-46. Grant DelaCruz and Adam Peterson both had seven points for the Mustang JV. Brett Taylor added six, while Endicott, Alex Kelly and Travis Hermstein scored five apiece. Gus Hopkins scored four.
Iola’s C team fell, 54-40. Ben Cooper scored 11, Isaiah Fawson had nine and Mason Ingle eight.
Iola travels to Baldwin Tuesday to open the Bulldog-Wildcat Preseason Tournament against Chanute.
Girard (8-11-10-8—37)
Iola (9-6-12-16—43)
Girard (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Stout 1-0-1-2, Damman 1/1-0-4-5, Eaton 0-0-4-0, Davied 4/2-1-1-15, Green 1-1-1-3, Hamblin 3-0-2-6, O’Dell 3-0-1-6. TOTALS: 13/3-2-14-37.
Iola (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Latta 6/1-3-1-18, Mueller 1-0-2-2, Wallace 2-0-3-4, McIntosh 0-2-0-2, Zimmerman 0-0-2-0, Macha 3-0-3-6, Powelson 4/1-0-2-11. TOTALS: 16/2-5-13-43.
Iola’s Latta scores 18 in 43-37 win over Girard
