A plague of first half fouls didn’t hinder Iola High’s furious fourth quarter to give the Mustangs a 77-47 win over Central Heights Tuesday night. THE JUNIOR VARSITY Mustangs beat Central Heights 68-50 earlier in the night. Braden Plumlee led the team with 14 points, scoring 12 in the second half. Isaiah Fawson scored 12. Chase Regehr scored eight points, Joey Zimmerman, Mason Ingle and Brice Aeillo added six apiece, Rhett Allen scored five, Ethan Holloway and Isaac Vink added four, Isiah Shaughnessy scored two and Zane Beasley made a free throw. THE FRESHMAN boys won 52-23. Evan Sigg scored 13 points, Ethan Holloway scored 12, Vink scored eight, Zach Cokely had six, Caden Knavel had four, Cale Barnhart four, Matt Miller scored three and Kanyon Beasley scored two. Iola 77, Central Heights 47
A whopping 30 fouls were called in the first half, and 53 for the game.
“There were a ton of fouls, which made it hard to get any type of rhythm,” coach Bill Peeper said. “We were just hoping things would become consistent and see the same things on each end.”
Iola started quickly, leading 19-8 with 3:14 left in the first quarter.
Kaden Macha had a huge first quarter, scoring nine. Macha got stronger through the night, leading all scorers with 29 points.
“Kaden produces so much for us. He’s hard to guard because he handles the ball so well,” Peeper said. “He’s aggressive to the basket and shoots the ball well. So many other guys also made strong contributions.”
The Mustangs had scoring contributions from nine players on the night.
After building a 33-22 halftime lead, Iola looked a little sluggish in the third quarter.
The Mustangs had extended their lead to 45-29 with 3:15 left in the quarter, but saw much of it evaporate. The Vikings went on a 12-2 run to pull to within six at 47-41 with 49.7 seconds left in the period.
Central Heights made two 3-pointers and had two quick baskets in transition during the run. They also scored a pair of free throws.
The Mustangs, however, pulled a run of their own that lasted through the entire fourth quarter. Iola ended the game outscoring the Vikings 30-6.
“It showed a lot of heart from the guys. I told them I was proud of them because a lot of guys played minutes that they probably weren’t expecting,” Peeper said. “A lot of times, we were playing guys in positions I know they weren’t expecting.”
The foul trouble in the first half resulted in both starting guards — Ben Cooper and Kohl Endicott — having to sit for extended periods. They each contributed during the late run, with Endicott scoring all eight of his points in the second half and Cooper adding a pair of free throws.
Iola (2-3) plays at Prairie View on Thursday.
Iola (19-14-18-26—77) (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Zimmerman 0-1-0-1, Cooper 1-2-4-4, Regehr 0-2-2-2, Endicott 4-0-3-8, Taylor 2-1-3-5, Aiello 2-3-3-7, Hermstein 1-3-1-5, Walden 0-0-2-0, Bauer 1-2-1-4, Macha 10-9-1-29, Peterson 6-0-5-12
Central Heights (8-14-19-16—47) (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Percy 0/1-0-5-3, Masingale 1-0-0-2, C. Brown 1-4-4-6, Smith 0-2-3-2, Watson 2/2-0-10, Holler 1-2-1-4, M. Brown 1-3-4-5, Hampton 0-0-2-0, Pryor 3-3-3-0, Speaks 0/2-0-1-6
Iola basketball beats Central Heights
