Everything went right early on for Iola High’s boys, in particular senior Isaiah Fawson.
Fawson scored Iola’s first 13 points of the game, outscoring visiting Chanute 13-7 in the process.
And even as his scoring pace slowed, his teammates stepped up to continue the early run. By the time Ethan Holloway drove for a bucket early in the second quarter, the Mustangs led 21-7 and seemingly had things well in hand..
“But sometimes we can’t stand success,” Iola head coach Jay Applegate said.
Chanute found its sea legs to claw to within five at halftime, took the lead early in the third quarter and made just enough plays at the end to prevail, 53-49.
The loss soured the homecoming festivities afterward, even though Fawson earned a nifty consolation prize. (He was crowned king, along with classmate Taylor Stout the queen).
“Unfortunately we’ve gone through games like this that weren’t homecoming,” Applegate said. “Things came a little too quickly for us early on, and we let up. And they made us pay.”
The contest wasn’t secured until the waning seconds.
The teams traded the lead early in the fourth quarter, when Joey Zimmernan’s 3-point play to give Iola a 45-42 lead.
But Chanute responded with two straight scores to regain the lead, 46-45. Evan Sigg hit a pair of free throws pushing Iola back on top 47-46.
Chanute’s Korbet Kimberlin — a thorn in Iola’s side from the second quarter on — scored on the Blue Comets’ next trip up the court. He then secured a steal and layup to push the lead to 50-47 with just over 2 minutes left.
Sigg connected twice more from the line to close the gap to 50-49 with 1:55 left.
Mason Manbeck went 1 of 2 from the line for Chanute, and Fawson was wide on a 3-point attempt, returning possession to the Blue Comets.
However, Manbeck missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Iola corralled the rebound.
Fawson drove to the paint, but his guarded layup rimmed out with about 20 seconds left.
Nate Audiss followed with a pair of free throws with 14.2 seconds left to seal the win.
