The offense came and went in bits and spurts Friday evening for Iola High’s boys, but their defense was at peak intensity from start to finish.
Nowhere was the Mustang defense as vital than during visiting Osawatomie’s final possession of the game and Iola up by a tenuous two points.
The Mustangs forced a tie-up with about eight seconds left, after both Adam Kauth and Levi Ashmore had their hands on the ball before the Trojans could put up a shot.
Osawatomie retained possession, but Iola’s Trent Latta stepped in front of a Trojan guard to swipe away the ball again before a shot could be attempted. Latta raced to the other end of the court, effectively sealing Iola’s 43-41 win.
The victory gives Iola a 1-0 record in Pioneer League play. Iola (3-4 overall) travels to Central Heights Tuesday.
“This game could have been a lot easier,” Mustang coach Bill Peeper said. “We have this tendency to struggle with success. We can find some crazy ways to shoot ourselves in the foot. But our defensive effort was outstanding all night long.”
Ashmore and Latta were particularly bothersome for Osawatomie’s offense, harassing ball handlers throughout the second half.
Meanwhile, senior forward Mason Coons made life tough for Trojan junior forward Cole Rayl, who scored nine points in the first quarter, but only nine the rest of the game.
Rayl, at 6-5, was playing in his first game of the season after coming back from an eye injury. He drained three early 3-pointers as the Trojans took a 15-10 lead after one quarter.
Countering Rayl on the offensive end was Iola junior Tyler Powelson, who scored all 10 of Iola’s points in the first period, most of which came on rebounds and putbacks. Powelson also had eight of the Mustangs’ 16 first-half rebounds.
“Tyler was huge for us early on,” Peeper said. “He really kept us in the game.”
The scoring was a bit more spread out from there.
Ashmore drained a 3-pointer, Latta secured a steal and layup to tie the score at 15-15 and Adam Kauth’s free throw midway through the second quarter gave Iola the lead for the first time.
Coons followed a Trojan basket with a 3-pointer to trigger an 8-2 run to finish the half. Kauth’s bucket with 1:43 left in the period put Iola’s lead at 21-19. Ashmore concluded the run with a trey at the 36-second mark.
Iola’s defense keyed another run in the waning minutes of the third quarter. Kaden Macha, Coons, Ashmore and Tyler McIntosh all scored as part of a 7-2 run to end the period, giving Iola a 38-30 cushion.
The lead grew to 40-31 on Powelson’s bucket with five minutes left in regulation.
Iola’s offense went cold from there. The Mustang managed only three more points, but Iola’s defense stepped up when it mattered.
“All of our guards did a nice job with our pressure,” Peeper said. “Mason really made (Rayl) work hard. They’re a lot better team with him in the lineup.”
Powelson’s 12 points, 10 boards and two blocks led Iola, while Ashmore had eight points, four rebounds and three steals. Kauth scored eight points. Latta had three steals and Coons was good for five assists and four rebounds.
Rayle scored 18 for Osawatomie. Morgan Soucie followed with 10.
Iola’s junior varsity came away with a 48-44 win.
Macha scored 16 points for Iola’s JV, followed by Kohl Endicott with nine and Fryendz Wallace with eight. Shane Walden had five points, Bryan Mueller four, Travis Hermstein three, Jesse Zimmerman two and Adam Peterson one.
The Trojans won the C team contest 45-35. Brett Tayler led Iola with 10 points.
Osawatomie (15-4-11-11—41)
Iola (10-14-14-5—43)
Osawatomie (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Chisam 0/1-0-3-3, Allen 0-0-2-0, England 1-0-0-2, Soucie 5-0-4-10, Rayl 4/3-1-2-18, Booe 2-0-2-4, Russell 1-0-0-2, Gaines 1-0-1-2. TOTALS: 14/3-1-14-41.
Iola (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Latta 3-0-1-6, Ashmore 1/2-0-4-8, Coons 1/1-1-2-6, McIntosh 1-0-1-2, Clubine 0-0-1-0, Kauth 2-4-2-8, Powelson 5-2-0-12. TOTALS: 13/3-8-11-43.
Mustangs hold off Osawatomie
