The Iola Ponies hosted Burlington on Thursday night in middle school hoops action. While none of the four Iola teams were able to garner a victory, it was a learning experience they can carry forward.
Here is how each team fared:
7th grade B team
Dreden Ellis scored the only Iola bucket in the first half. The Ponies failed to find their groove offensively in the opening stages, and jogged into the locker room down 7-2. Cole Moyer kicked off the second half with a bucket just inside the 3-point line, and a pair of free throws from Ellis brought the Ponies within one.
After the strong Iola push to start the third, Burlington responded with a 6-0 run to bump its lead to seven. After a 3-point bomb from Moyer to start the fourth, the Ponies ran quiet the rest of the way, losing 23-9.
8th grade B team
The eighth-grade B bombers had a strong start to their contest. -Will Talkington opened the scoring with an elbow jumper, and the Ponies pulled away 4-1 in the opening minutes. Iola maintained its lead in the second period, but only managed a two-point advantage at the break, leading 10-8.
Carson Keller gave Iola its largest lead with a fastbreak layup, stretching the Pony lead to 17-10. While the Pony offense flourished in the third, it was unable to muster any success in the fourth. Burlington held Iola to one point in the final period to claim the 21-18 come-from-behind victory.
7th grade A team
Iola had no answer for Burlingtons full court press. The Ponies struggled to get the ball across halfcourt, and were unable to score in the first half. Iola trailed the Wildcats 43-0 at halftime. Iola was finally able to get on the scoreboard in the third period via buckets from Jordan Kauffman, Kyser Nemecek, and a free throw from Lucas Maier.
In the fourth, Cortland Carson chipped in five points as the Ponies were able to muster nine points in the final period. But it was too little too late as the Ponies fell by a wide margin to the Wildcats.
8th grade A team
