CARBONDALE For a quarter, it really did look as if the Iola boys had a shot at knocking off the undefeated, second-ranked in 3A Santa Fe Trail Chargers on the road.
Their defense was impeccable, their rebounding tenacious and their competive fire raging.
However, come quarter two, the Chargers, led by senior star John Long, started to inflict their will on the way to a 78-35 blowout.
The loss drops Iola to 6-7 overall.
We really did defend well in that first quarter, head coach Luke Bycroft said. They got a late bucket or two to take the lead but we really did a good job defending and rebounding. Then I decided to go to zone to give the guys a break for a little bit because we were gassed and we werent great and we werent terrible so when we went back to our man defense, we didnt have that same energy.
The Mustangs took their first lead of the game at 11-10 with 48.7 seconds left to play but a quick 5-0 run in the final seconds gave Santa Fe Trail a four-point advantage heading into the second quarter.
With 3:45 left until halftime, the lead was pushed to 10 and then to 20 just before the half.
Long, who came in averaging 30 points a game, was held to a paltry 24 points thanks in part to the relentless effort of guards Calvin Delich and Derek Bycroft.
Theyre a good team and Long hits shots, guarded shots, Bycroft said. I thought Calvin did a great job on him as did Derek when he guarded him. Theyre our two best on-ball defenders. Calvins got the heart of a champion and he was not going to back down but the kid just hit some shots.
The lead stayed around 20 for most of the third quarter until a late run from Santa Fe Trail grew it to nearly 30. The Chargers really benefitted off of transition buckets that helped them pad their lead.
My biggest frustration over the past several games has been our transition defense, Bycroft said. Were not stopping the ball as its coming down the court. They were just passing over our heads and beating us to the bucket. There is some technique and game plan to stopping guys in transition, but for us right now, thats just effort.
Junior Cal Leonard was Iolas lone double-figure scorer. He had 14 followed by seven each for Delich and senior Kane Rogers.
Santa Fe Trail got the lead to 30 just inside of the fourth quarter, triggering the running clock. The game is the second straight and third this season that Iola has trailed by 30 or more in the fourth quarter.
I told them again that I wouldnt trade any one of them for any of their players, Bycroft said. I dont want their guys, I want our guys and we have to figure out a way to do this together. Were going to figure this out. Were a better team than what weve shown and weve got to find a way to get better. Weve got the horses but weve got to put some things together and work as a team.
This run of tough competition isnt over yet. Iola now heads into a road rematch on Friday with a 7-4 Burlington team that beat Iola by 37 back on Dec. 11.
Iola (11-4-17-1345) (2pt/3pt-FT-F-TP) Leonard 4/2-0-2-14, Delich 2/1-0-2-7, Rogers 1/1-2-1-7, Cole 2/0-1-1-5, Ashmore 0/1-0-0-3, Di. Bycroft 2/0-1-1-3, De. Bycroft 1/0-0-2-2, Preston 0/0-2-0-2, Newland 1/0-0-0-2, Landon Carson 0/0-0-1-0. TOTALS: 13/5-6-11-45.
