CHANUTE — The Iola Mustangs seemed just a step behind the entire evening as the Chanute Comets took Friday’s contest 61-46.
Iola coach Luke Bycroft believes the loss by the 3A Mustangs to the 4A Comets came down to rebounds.
“We did not rebound well enough to beat a good team,” Bycroft said. “That’s what we’re struggling with. We’re giving up way too many offensive rebounds and letting them have extra chances to score. We talk about it. We focus on it in practice. We work on it in drills. It’s a focus in scrimmage and live play.”
Junior forward Keegan Hill kept Iola in contention early with 9 of his team-leading 19 points coming in the first half, but the rest of Iola’s lineup struggled. Five points from senior Nick Bauer off a 3-pointer and a drive, as well as buckets from junior guard Austin Crooks, sophomore forward Mosiah Fawson and sophomore guard Colton Thompson kept the Mustangs in reach.
Defensively, Bycroft said he liked their effort but they will not win if they do not prevent second-chance opportunities.
“We lost that game by 15 and there is no way they had fewer than 20 points from offensive rebounds,” Bycroft. “Until we do that, nothing else matters on the defensive end. We’re playing with great effort, but if we don’t rebound then it doesn’t matter how well we play.”
Hill exploded in the fourth quarter with a pair of 3-pointers and a pair of drives. With only seven points coming from the rest of Iola’s field, a late rally was out of the question.
“This was a team we could beat. This was a team we could compete with,” Bycroft said. “We’re struggling right now on the defensive end, but offensively we’re also struggling. Our movement and spacing are not good enough. We’re stuck. We’re too close together.”
With the loss, the Mustangs fall to 8-11 overall and their losing streak extends to five games. Along with leading Iola in scoring, Hill also tied Bauer for the team lead in assists and rebounds with four assists and four rebounds each. Bauer was second in scoring with 12 points.
Tuesday, Iola hosts the 1-16 Prairie View Buffalos, who Iola previously defeated 70-31 in December. However, as they enter the contest on a five-game slide, Bycroft is not overlooking anyone.
“It’s a new offense we’re trying this year, but we’ve hit a wall right now,” Bycroft said. “We were getting better and better. We’re not progressing into better spacing, better timing and we’re stuck in repetitive patterns. This offense allows us freedom of movement, so we can play off each other and we’re not doing a good job.”
Tip-off for Tuesday’s game will take place 20 minutes after the conclusion of the 6 p.m. girls contest.
