BALDWIN CITY — The Iola High boys came out flat in their 69-41 defeat in the Class 4A opening round substate playoff game against Baldwin Tuesday night.
The Mustangs (8-13) were outmanned by Baldwin’s size and hot shooting throughout the game. The Bulldogs knocked down 11 three-pointers and often controlled the ball in a possession- and momentum-decided game.
“It was really about whether we were going to compete, rebound and get down the floor and we didn’t,” said Iola head coach Luke Bycroft. “We were flat. We didn’t rebound and didn’t get back in transition which was something we were working on the past couple of days.”
Baldwin began the night on an 8-2 scoring run only minutes into the game following a Cooper Carr three. Iola fell behind by double digits near the end of the first quarter when Joey Ziembicki drove hard for a layup to put the Mustangs in a 16-4 hole.
Caleb Carr hit a couple of three’s while Talan Torrez also hit a three for Baldwin to take an early 21-8 lead heading to the second quarter.
Senior Eli Adams of Iola tried to put some sort of spark in the offense in the first half when he went for six points including four in the second quarter. Mac Leonard also nailed a three but Iola trailed Baldwin near the end of the first half, 37-17.
“Tonight was one where we had to be more patient on offense and we didn’t do that,” Bycroft said. “We needed to be more disciplined instead of more aggressive on offense. We needed to be aggressive on defense getting back and we couldn’t find that balance.”
Baldwin’s Colton Collum hit another three for the home team to take a 42-17 halftime lead.
Leonard hit a three to begin the second half. The Bulldogs got more shots to fall in the third quarter when Cooper Carr, Ziembicki and Torrez each hit three’s to extend the score to 58-34.
The Mustangs ended the third quarter on a high note.
Right when the buzzer sounded, Leonard pulled up at half-court and drained a three to send the game into the fourth.
Although it didn’t do much to help the Mustangs’ cause, it was a highlight reel for all.
Iola’s Cody Wille, a senior, scored four points and Cooper Carr hit another three in the fourth quarter.
The 69-41 win means Baldwin will face Holton on Friday in the second-round play.
The Mustangs were led offensively by Leonard’s 15 points, Adams’ eight points and Landon Weide and Hurt’s five points apiece.
