WELLSVILLE — Coaches emphasize the little things.It’s what they do. Iola Mustangs head coach Luke Bycroft is no different.
Wellsville stood at the charity stripe ahead by one with 22 seconds remaining. Although the Eagles’ first attempt of a 1-and-1 rimmed out, the Mustangs couldn’t capitalize. Iola failed to secure the rebound off the miss, allowing the Eagles an extra chance at the line. Wellsville made both, and escaped with a 67-64 win over the Mustangs.
Ultimately, the Mustangs’ lack of preventing second-chance points was their downfall.
“It’s fitting. I don’t like it, but it is fitting that it ended that way,” Bycroft said. “We defended well enough to beat this team tonight, but we just did not get the key rebounds.”
Earlier in the season, Iola saw a 14-point lead deteriorate in the second half against the Eagles. While the game on Jan. 16 was full of runs, Tuesday’s contest was full of back-and-forth action.
The Mustang offense gelled perfectly in the first as all five starters got involved in the early scoring. Bradyn Cole led the Mustangs with six points in the period, receiving the ball off great feeds from Dillon Bycroft. While Iola’s high-low game grooved, the Eagles soared from the outside.
Wellsville notched 11 3-pointers in the contest, with four coming in the first as the Eagles kept pace with the Mustangs, trailing 18-16 heading into the second.
“When a team hits 11 3-pointers at the high school level, it is tough to beat them,” Bycroft said. “We didn’t challenge their shooters early. They were a few feet behind the line, they were willing to take those shots, and we didn’t get out and guard like we’ve been telling them to.”
Cal Leonard gave Iola its largest lead of six at the 6:12 mark in the second, but the Eagles answered with back-to-back treys to level the score. A pair of free throws to close the quarter gave Wellsville a 32-31 lead at intermission.
The back-and-forth battle resumed after the halftime break. Landon Carson chimed in three 3-pointers in the third, including consecutive bombs to give Iola a 44-43 lead. The Eagles outpaced the Mustangs 8-4 in the waning minutes of the third, taking a 52-47 lead.
Wellsville grew its lead to eight before Carson provided some fourth-quarter heroics. After knocking down both charities, Carson swished home a 3-pointer, giving Iola a 61-60 lead with 2:55 remaining.
Iola grew its lead to three after two free throws from Calvin Delich, but Wellsville replied with two straight baskets, including a 3-pointer from Drake Aamold to take a 65-63 lead with under minute remaining.
Carson converted 1 of 2 from the stripe with 40 seconds remaining, and Iola shortly regained possession after collecting a rebound off the miss at the line after being forced to foul. Bycroft elected to call a timeout with 29 seconds remaining to organize his Mustangs for one final crack at the lead. But the opportunity didn’t arise after Delich was whistled for a traveling violation, handing possession hack over to Wellsville.
The Eagles missed the first attempt at a 1-and-1, but collected the rebound, and earned another trip to the line. This time, Wellsville cashed in, taking a three-point lead with seconds remaining.
Overtime rested on a 3-point attempt by Leonard, but his attempt veered right of the rim, resulting in the 67-64 loss.
