The Iola Middle School boys basketball teams wrapped up their season on Monday at Wellsville with two wins for the eighth-grade and two losses for the seventh grade.
The eighth-grade varsity won big, 48-21.
The beatdown started early with the Ponies outscoring Wellsville 26-5 in the first quarter. No one scored in the second quarter but Iola added four more points to their lead with a 13-9 third quarter. The Ponies outscored the Eagles 9-7 in the fourth.
“I was proud of the boys tonight,” head coach Scott Ellis said. “We came out ready to play defensively and offensively. Karson Sigg got us going outside of the perimeter tonight with several others chipping in. Aggressive rebounding along with steals set the pace. All the boys competed tonight, ending the season on a great note.”
Sigg led the Ponies with 17 points on 7-14 shooting. Brett Morrison, Cooper Riley and Sean Hurst each scored six and T.J. Taylor had five points. Brett Willis, Sam Fager, Trenton Varney and Tyler Boeken each had two points.
Hurst led the team with four rebounds and Varney and Boeken each had a block.
The eighth-grade junior varsity was just as dominant, winning 29-7.
Iola led 10-2 after the first quarter and had a 12-0 second quarter to lead 22-2 at the break. Wellsville outscored the Ponies 4-5 in the third but the Ponies finished strong, scoring three and holding the Eagles to zero to close out the game.
Deacon Perkins had 10 points and Taylor had seven. Varney and Colin Long each had four and Willis and Fager scored two points each. Perkins also had a team-high five steals and Taylor had two blocks.
The seventh-grade varsity hung tough early in its 45-20 loss to Wellsville but saw it slip away in the second half.
Iola trailed 14-10 after the first quarter and 21-12 headed into the half. The Eagles came out strong and put up 16 in the third quarter while Iola scored just five. An 8-3 fourth quarter for Wellsville gave them their 25-point win.
“I was proud of our effort tonight,” Ellis said. “The score doesn’t show how hard the boys worked. Ending up third place in the league is something to be proud of for these young guys. With more fundamentals and hard work, these boys will be ready to compete again next year.”
Eli Adams, Preston Hurst and Carter Hutton each scored four points while Brandon McKarnin had three. Jake Skahan and Holden Barker each had two and Jakoby Wilson had a point.
McKarnin, Hurst and Hutton each had three rebounds. Hutton also had six blocks.
A rough start put the seventh-grade junior varsity behind early in their 34-12 loss.
The Eagles led 18-9 after the first quarter and no one scored in the second quarter. Wellsville had 10 unanswered coming out of the half to extend their lead to 19 and outscored the Ponies 6-3 in the fourth quarter.
Travis Wanker had five points in the loss and Kaster Trabuc had three. Kyler Mittelmeier and Brian Rojas each had two points. Justin McCullough had seven rebounds and Wanker and Trabuc each had three steals.
Middle school athletes will be back in action on March 29 for their first track meet at Humboldt. The IMS golfers will start their season on April 2 at Pittsburg.
Eighth-grade Ponies win at Wellsville
