Down one with less than 10 seconds to play, head coach Luke Bycroft didnt call a set play.
He knew his team and he knew the situation. He didnt want them wasting time thinking; he just wanted them to play ball.
So when senior point guard Derek Bycroft looked left at junior Cal Leonard, who had 18 points and was on fire, and right at senior Blake Ashmore, who put up 17 points, including a strong open and finish to the game, neither was open.
He had to take the shot.
I was driving through the lane and trying to draw some defense because both Cal and Blake were hot but the defense stayed on them, Derek said. I didnt really see anyone else open and I knew that I was working on this turn-around jumper and I thought Id try it and hope that it goes in. It was a scary shot but it went in.
Bycroft went left, shot faked and pivoted all the way around right for a 12-foot jump shot over the head of a Wellsville defender to win Iola the game.
With less than 8 seconds left, the Eagles had a shot at a buzzer-beating game winner and they nearly pulled it off but after a short dance on the rim, it fell, leaving the Mustangs victorious by the slim margin of a point, 63-62.
#GameWinnerSzn pic.twitter.com/iNXNmxX3ot
Jeremy Waldman (@JWal_OG) January 12, 2019
It wasnt pretty but I love a game that isnt pretty when they play with that type of effort, coach Bycroft said. I told them that tonight wasnt about Xs and Os. Weve had great practices. We know what to do. Tonight was about heart, effort and intensity.
When we walked into that locker room after the game I had boys, high school boys, in tears. They put everything into every possession on this court and when you do that, it means something. Thats what Im proud of. Thats what makes it fun to coach.
The win moves the Mustangs back to an even 4-4 and 2-2 in Pioneer League play.
The game was tight nearly the whole way through.
Iola started off hot with six straight points from Ashmore and took its first multi-possession lead after a Leonard three.
That lead grew to as much as nine but the Eagles, led by their three-point shooting (they hit eight overall) and the 26 points from senior Jackson Dwyer, tied things up at 20 and then at 26 by the end of the half.
Iola jumped out to a six- point lead after halftime but Wellsville kept the seesaw going, tying things up at 42.
