CANEY — An extended Christmas break, made even longer after wintry weather postponed two games the week prior, meant Iola High’s Mustangs had nearly a month between contests.
Their showdown at Caney Valley Thursday marked Iola’s first action since Dec. 19 — four full weeks.
The basketball gods apparently decided to cram a month’s worth of drama and excitement, and finally heartbreak, into that return.
The Mustangs saw a late lead dissipate in a bizarre scene filled with missed free throws, turnovers and a 20-minute stoppage of play.
Caney’s Brayden Messner’s 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in regulation sent the game to overtime, where the teams traded the lead back and forth like a baseball card until Caney took a 78-77 lead with 33 seconds left after Traxcyn Garton got open inside for a bucket.
Iola came up empty on its next two possessions, a missed jumper from Cortland Carson with about 10 seconds left, and a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer, to wind up with an 80-77 loss.
But that only told a fraction of the story.
Iola led 66-58 with about 4 minutes left before the Bullpups rattled off seven straight points to make it a 1-point game.
Iola’s Matthew Beckmon drained a 3-pointer to re-establish a 69-65 advantage.
The lead was at 71-68 when Colt Hightower missed a tying 3-point attempt that bounced out of bounds, giving possession back to the Mustangs.
But officials stopped the game for about 20 minutes because a spectator in the stands suffered a medical episode, requiring ambulance personnel be summoned to the gymnasium.
And while Iola still led when play resumed, it became quickly apparent the Mustangs no longer had momentum.
“We were leading, but we weren’t in control,” Iola head coach Luke Bycroft said. “It was one of those things where we could’ve hit free throws, and we could have taken care of the ball better.”
Caney Valley promptly stole the ball as Iola tried to get the ball across the mid-court line, leading to 1 of 2 free throws from Benjamin Matthews to cut the lead to 71-69.
Another Bullpup steal led to a Hightower miss. Iola’s Carson corralled the rebound and 1 of 2 charities for a three-point lead with 26 seconds left.
