Iola’s boys played host to Parsons to open the Iola ninth grade tournament on Monday. Iola put up a strong effort but fell to the Vikings 58-49.
Iola struggled out of the gates as Parsons hit a few open threes to open the game. Iola turned the ball over and Parsons took advantage, rushing to a 14-6 lead early as Iola couldn’t match the pace of the Vikings.
Iola played hard, and played the boards, but Parsons’ size advantage allowed them to get open shots.
Despite all the Mustangs’ best efforts, the Vikings led 31-18 at the break.
Coming out of halftime, turnovers continued to be an issue for the Mustangs and were compounded when Iola’s shooting remained cold.
It didn’t help matters that toward the end of the third quarter, Parsons struck gold, scoring 10 points in the span of a little over a minute. That offensive burst by the Vikings gave Parsons a 20-point lead heading into the fourth.
Iola didn’t give up though. The Mustangs fought back in the final few minutes of the quarter to cut the deficit to as little as seven points before Parsons kicked it back into gear. Iola took advantage of late fouls by the Vikings. Kolton Greathouse went 2-2 from the free throw line while Ethan Harris went 1-2 in a huge 21-point fourth quarter to help bring the Mustangs back.
Parsons was too much for Iola in the end. While Iola kept it close, the Mustangs couldn’t match the pace the Vikings established early.
“We got down against a really good team but I’m proud of the kids for fightingback,” said Iola ninth grade coach Chris Weide. “We just ran out of time. Parsons had a couple of kids that could shoot and a few ball handlers and we got out of our man-to-man defense and into a zone. We showed heart by being down and not folding.”
Cortland Carson scored 17 points. Lucas Maier scored eight. Kyser Nemecek scored seven. Kaiden Rutherford scored six. Jeremy Adair, Gavin Jones, Greathouse, and Grady Dougherty each scored two. Ethan Harris scored one.
The Mustangs are back in action Friday at Wellsville.
