Iola High is oh-so-close to consistently putting a winning formula on the floor.
“We’re seeing glimpses of some really good things,” Mustang head coach Luke Bycroft said.
But a valiant effort against visiting Osawatomie and its sequoia-sized front nine players fell apart at the end.
The Trojans ended Friday’s tilt with an 11-2 run over the game’s final 2½ minutes to emerge with a 64-55 victory.
The loss drops Iola to 4-5 on the season with a key stretch coming up this week, with home games against Labette County on Tuesday and Caney Valley on Thursday before a road game at Wellsville.
“It’s a dangerous part of the schedule,” Bycroft said. “All three games are winnable, but we also can lose any of the three. We’re gonna have to compete every night to have a chance to win.”
That was Iola’s mindset against the 7-1 Trojans’ front line of 6-4 power forward Jasper Sallee (more on him later) and 6-7 center Jaxon Stevenson.
“I was impressed with how we attacked the rim. That was the plan, to get the ball in the middle and attack their bigs.”
The strategy put Stevenson on the bench with three first half fouls in a back-and-forth affair that saw Osawatomie nurse a 29-27 lead into the halftime locker room.
Iola started out quickly in the third quarter.
Austin Crooks drained a 3-pointer, followed by a driving layup from Nick Bauer to push Iola on top, 33-30. Keegan Hill and Mosiah Fawson both hit a pair of free throws before Fawson scored inside and Bauer followed with a bucket to push Iola up 42-38.
But every time Iola charged, Osawatomie answered.
“We had several opportunities to put a little space in there, and put pressure on them. But every time we did, they’d get a loose ball, or find somebody for a kick-out 3.”
The Trojans fought back to tie the score at 44-44 by the end of the third quarter.
Hill and Bauer then gave Iola early fourth-quarter boosts with traditional 3-point plays. Bauer pushed Iola ahead, 50-47, with 5½ minutes remaining.
The game remained razor-thin until Hill was whistled for an offensive foul — his fifth — sending him to the bench for the rest of the night.
