BURLINGTON — The Iola High boys basketball team allowed turnovers and bad rebounding to get the best of them in a 69-48 loss at Burlington Friday night.
The Mustangs (6-7; 1-3) got down big early when the Wildcats began the game on a 7-0 scoring run before taking a 10-3 advantage midway through the first quarter.
Hayden Sides led Burlington’s early offensive attack when he knocked down a couple of three’s in the first. Burlington was on fire from the floor in the first half.
“He [Sides] shot the ball really well. If you don’t rebound, it doesn’t matter what we do on offense or what we do on defense,” said Iola head coach Luke Bycroft. “If you don’t rebound the ball and you don’t take care of the ball, it doesn’t matter what we try to do on either side.”
Eli Adams helped Iola cut the deficit to four by the end of the first after he banked in a trio of layups and sank a free throw. The Mustangs trailed heading into the second quarter, 19-15.
Iola’s Mac Leonard knocked down a two-point jumper a few minutes into the second quarter, bringing the Mustangs within two points, 19-17. Cortland Carson then tied the game at 21 with a two-point jumper.
That would be the closest Iola would get to taking the lead. Burlington then went on an 11-0 run at the end of the first half to take a 32-21 advantage.
“We played lazy and selfishly tonight,” Bycroft said. “You can’t beat a decent team like that. We have to be disciplined and play good basketball. We have to take care of the pressure and get good shots, and we didn’t do that.”
Burlington’s scoring run was led by Grant Hegg’s trio of layups and Sides hitting a three and a layup. Burlington held a 34-23 advantage over Iola at halftime.
The Wildcats extended their lead throughout the second half, led by Hegg with 11 points and Sage Faifer scoring seven points.
Iola’s Adams led with 12 points in the second half and Landon Weide added five points. It just wasn’t enough.
Adams finished with 19 points, Weide with 11 and Carson with nine points.
Girls Basketball
The Iola girls began their night on a high note against Burlington, outscoring them in the first quarter and keeping within one point at the half. Unfortunately, they were unable to maintain that effort, ultimately losing by a 53-35 final.
Aysha Houk led Iola offensively when she knocked down a couple three’s while also going for a layup in the opening quarter. She was joined by Kaysin Crusinbery, Reese Curry and Jackie Fager also scoring two points apiece in the first quarter.
