RICHMOND — The Iola High boys basketball team played their best defensive game so far this season to knock off Santa Fe Trail at the Central Heights tournament Friday night, 43-39.
The Mustangs (2-2) outrebounded the Chargers and only allowed Santa Fe Trail to score a maximum of 12 points in a quarter, the third quarter. Iola also forced a number of turnovers which they were able to capitalize off of and turn into points on the other end of the court.
“We really worked our tails off defensively, that was the best we’ve played defensively,” said Iola head coach Luke Bycroft. “We rotated, talked, moved and helped early on dribble drives. These guys will get better as the year goes on and they (Santa Fe Trail) put a lot of pressure on our defense. It really was a much better defensive performance.”
Eli Adams was an energizer bunny all over the court for Iola as he knocked down a three-pointer and a two in the first quarter. Adams was joined by Mac Leonard’s three and some two’s from Preston Hurst, Cortland Carson, Grady Dougherthy and Lucas Maier.
Iola held Santa Fe Trail’s offense to eight points in the first quarter, led by Chad Robert’s three-pointer and Luke Edwards pair of two-pointers. Iola led Santa Fe Trail at the end of the first quarter, 16-8.
Landon Weide and Dougherty each went for two points in the second quarter. The Mustangs defense allowed a three to Lane Workman, a two to Jalen Smith and held Santa Fe Trail to only 10 points in the second quarter.
Iola led Santa Fe Trail at halftime, 21-18.
“You win games with toughness and attitude,” said Bycroft. “Eli Adams had a little fire to him tonight, he played great defensively, scrappy, got after it. We speed it up and make it tough on them and Eli is a huge part of that because he can play full speed the whole game. He’s just one of those guys who doesn’t stop, energizer bunny, and he really speeds them up.”
Adams continued his tear with a layup to begin the second half, accompanied by a Hurst layup for the only four Mustang points of the third quarter. The Mustang defense sputtered for a moment in the third quarter and allowed the Chargers back into the game and took the lead.
The Chargers third quarter scoring surge was highlighted by a Kemper Spoonemore three and two-pointer as well as a trio of two’s from Workman, Robert and Edwards. Iola trailed Santa Fe Trail by the end of the third quarter, 30-28.
“We have to understand the possession is so valuable, the ball is so valuable and we have to make good decisions with our shot selection,” Bycroft said. “We let them back in the game by getting ourselves in a hurry and forcing stuff up that we didn’t need to. That’s one thing we’re still trying to learn, right shot selection at the right time.”
Iola’s Adams stepped up yet again in the fourth quarter as he dropped in a trio of layups. Weide also dribbled into the lane for a layup and hit a few free throws in the final minutes to secure the four-point victory.
Santa Fe Trail’s Edwards stepped into the lane for a couple of layups but it wasn’t enough as Iola’s defense was able to force turnovers and provide more possessions for their offense.
The Mustangs were led offensively by Adams 15 points, Weide’s nine points and Carson’s five points. Hurst, Leonard and Dougherty also went for four points apiece.
Iola will host Burlington on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.
