WELLSVILLE — Iola ended five years of futility against the Wellsville Eagles after junior guard Austin Crooks put up a game-winning drive in the final seconds to put the Mustangs up 47-45.
Crooks scored all but two of his team-leading 13 points in the fourth quarter, tying the contest with consecutive 3-pointers before taking the final inbound pass from senior guard Nick Bauer and making a split-second decision on how he would take the crucial shot.
“If he was too far off, then I was just going to shoot it, but he was closing out on the break,” Crooks said of the Eagles’ senior guard Oliver Dwyer. “He wasn’t there right away, and I saw there was no one there to help, so I drove in and elevated.”
Before getting hot in the fourth quarter, Crooks was more of a role player for much of Friday’s contest with just a pair of free throws in the first quarter.
Junior forward Keegan Hill and sophomore forward Reed Clift provided Iola with a 1-2 punch in the paint. Clift had a double-double, including a team-leading 11 rebounds and scoring 10 points. Hill had five rebounds. He and sophomore forward Mosiah Fawson scored 9 points apiece, mkaing 17 of Iola’s 20 first-half points.
Bauer scored 5 points while leading Iola in steals and assists.
Iola coach Luke Bycroft said he found the team’s efforts encouraging because it meant they were finding new ways to win games.
“You make some mistakes for a while, but then you correct them. You right the ship,” Bycroft said. “They’re not giving up when things get hard, when things get difficult. They’re persevering at the end, and that created a chance for Austin to make a great play.”
With the win, the Mustangs evened their record to 6-6 and their Pioneer League record to 3-3. They take a break from the Pioneer League to host the War on 54 Basketball Tournament with games at IHS and Iola Elementary School throughout the week.
Iola opens action Tuesday against Crest and on Thursday faces Humboldt.
The Cubs’ Hayden Kelley, a senior guard, is a transfer from IHS.
“It’s exciting, especially facing Crest and Humboldt,” Hill said. “We’re going to play against one of our old teammates, and that is going to be fun.
“If we play defense, and put in the work, then we can get a championship.”
