OSAWATOMIE — It’s not often a team turns the ball over 24 times and still pulls in a 25-point victory.
“Oh, my goodness, sloppy is right,” Iola Mustang head coach Luke Bycroft said of his team’s 65-40 win over host Osawatomie Friday.
The key, as Bycroft often stresses, comes from the Mustang defense.
Iola (4-1) was able to overcome its offensive lulls by wreaking havoc on Osawatomie’s offense.
“We did a good job of challenging their ball handlers. We were being active and helping early.
Iola racked up 19 steals, including seven by Jack Adams, to keep Osawatomie off kilter most of the night.
That defense keyed a 24-2 first half run, turning a 12-12 deadlock into a 36-14 lead by midway through the second quarter.
But just as quickly as Iola found its rhythm, a few slip-ups eventually crushed that momentum.
Osawatomie ended the first half with back-to-back 3-pointers, as part of a 15-6 run to pull within 44-33.
Iola responded with its second big run of the night. Landon Carson ended the Trojans’ burst with a 3-point play — layup plus a free throw — to kickstart an 8-2 run. Nathan Houk followed with a basket to open a 49-33 lead.
“I don’t think we were very efficient at the halfcourt offense, but we were efficient in transition,” Bycroft said. “And I’m not disappointed with how we played defense, at all. We ran transition well, and we were aggressive getting to the basket.”
Carson led the way with 22 points and four steals, while Dillon Bycroft added 10 points, three assists and two thefts.
Jack Adams raked in a whopping seven steals.
“It was great defense, poor offense and good transition,” Bycroft said.
Iola resumes play Monday at Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan
Iola (14-24-11-16—65) (FG/3pt): Bycroft 3/1-1-1-10, Adams 6-1-1-13, Fager 0-0-2-0, Louk 2-0-2-4, Cole 5-0-2-12, Carson 9/1-1-2-22, Boeken 3-0-4-6. TOTALS: 28/2-3-14-65.
