Mustang offense goes south

RICHMOND — Oh what a difference a month makes.
On Jan. 14, Iola High’s boys put together one of their best games of the year, taking control in the second half of a 17-point win over Central Heights.
Fast forward to Friday, where things were a bit uglier.
Iola’s offense was stuck in neutral most of the night, and Central Heights was over-powering inside.
By the time the dust settled, the Mustangs were on the wrong side of a 38-22 setback. The 22 points mark a season-low for Iola.
“Until we do something about it, this is the team we are,” Mustang head coach Bill Peeper said. “I’d like to say this was a blip on the radar, but this has happened too often.”
The Vikings took control from the midpoint of the first quarter. Central Heights’ Tanner Erhart got loose inside for a basket — a common theme — to kick-start a 9-2 Viking run to end the period.
Iola’s troubles weren’t over. Not by a longshot.
The Mustangs scored only six in the second quarter, then went seven minutes without scoring in the third. Jordan Horstick’s basket with less than minute to go in the third quarter gave the Vikings a 34-12 lead.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Peeper said. “It looked like this was the first game of our season. The key word is urgency. They played with it tonight; we didn’t.
“For a team this heavy with older players, we have a distinct lack of leadership,” he continued. “We saw small glimpses of hustle and effort, but they took it to us in every way tonight.”
How ugly was it?
Reserve Kohl Endicott came off the bench and scored a couple of quick baskets in the waning moments of the game. The spurt was enough to tie him for second in scoring with four points.
At one point, Iola had three consecutive possessions in the third quarter end with blocked shots and Viking rebounds.
No Mustang had more than two field goals.
Central Heights, on the other hand, saw Erhart erupt for 19 points, including 7 of 8 free throws.
Trent Latta led Iola with five points. Tyler Powelson had five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“There’s not much else to look at,” Peeper said.
The Mustangs return home Monday for a makeup game against Fort Scott. Another home game follows one night later against Prairie View.
Iola (6-6-3-7—22)
Central Heights (12-11-11-4—38)
Iola (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Latta 1/1-0-3-5, Mueller 0-0-1-0, Wallace 2-0-3-4, Endicott 2-0-1-4, Tyler McIntosh 2-0-2-4, Zimmerman 0-0-1-0, Kelly 0-0-1-0, Kauth 2-0-0-4, Peterson 0-1-0-1. TOTALS: 9/1-1-12-22.
Central Heights (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Davis 0/3-0-0-9, Watson 0-0-1-0, Robertson 0-0-1-0, Holler 0-0-2-0, Brown 0/1-0-1-3, Horstick 2-0-3-4, Pryor 0-2-1-2, Erhart 6-7-2-19, Hendron 0-1-0-1. TOTALS: 8/4-10-11-38.