Iola High School’s boys’ basketball team capped off a Friday night doubleheader on the hardwood with a big win, defeating Osawatomie 64-36 for their second win of the season. Iola came out explosively on offense and found good shots, draining them to extend an early lead. Iola controlled the boards all night, with 42 total rebounds, up from 21 against St. Mary’s-Colgan in their previous game. The Mustangs protected the paint in the first half, not allowing the Trojans to drive the ball, making them rely on outside shots that weren’t falling. Osawatomie turnovers gave Iola extra possessions which they took advantage of, getting extra buckets from the paint and from outside. The Mustangs commanded a 37-18 lead at halftime. In the second half, Iola looked like the Harlem Globetrotters, passing the ball around the court and making shots at will while Osawatomie still struggled to find its rhythm. Iola dominated the Trojans in the second half, going on big offensive runs, while the defense continued to pressure Osawatomie into even more turnovers and mistakes. In all, nine players scored for Iola. Iola’s defense didn’t allow a single Osawatomie shooter to get more than six points, a great improvement from the game Tuesday. Iola’s Landon Weide and Mac Leonard were both perfect from the free throw line. As a team, Iola hit 11 of 22 from the line. No Mustangs fouled out of the game as almost the entire roster saw time on the court late in the game. “We needed that win tonight,” said Iola head coach Luke Bycroft. “We played more confidently and more aggressively. Defensively, we were very active and ran the floor well in transition. We did exactly what we wanted to do and took care of the ball.” Iola (26-11-20-7—64) (FG/3pt) Weide 4-2-4-10 Adams 2/1-0-3-7 Fager 3-4-1-10 Wanker 2/1-0-2-5 Rutoh 1-0-0-2 Riley 4-2-2-10 Leonard 4/1-2-2-11 Morrison 4-0-3-8 Skahan 0-1-2-1 Totals: 22/3- 11-16-64 Osawatomie (7-11-8-10—36) (FG/3p) Hodgson 3/1-1-2-6 Fennel 1/1-0-1-3 Seales 1/1-1-4-4 Mitzner 2-1-1-5 Peterson 3-0-0-6 Fanning 1-1-5-3 Chilson 1/1-2-0-5 Totals: 9/4-6-18-36 Iola’s junior varsity won 53-20. Cody Wille had 14 points. Cortland Carson had seven. Eli Adams, Mac Leonard, Travis Wanker and Gage Skahan each had six. Japheth Rutoh had five. Ben Kerr, Lucas Maier, and Isaac McCullugh each had two. Casey Rowe had one. Iola is back in action next Friday at Wellsville.
Iola High School’s boys’ basketball team capped off a Friday night doubleheader on the hardwood with a big win, defeating Osawatomie 64-36 for their second win of the season.
