The Iola Middle School boys basketball team had a tough go against Wellsville Tuesday night. The Mustangs went 1-3 against the Eagles.
The seventh grade B team lost 32-7. The seventh grade A team lost 35-18. The eighth grade B team were winners for Iola, 16-15, the eighth grade A team lost 42-20. The seventh grade B team came out sluggish and couldn’t make shots early, That was not the case for the Eagles, as they came out raining shots down, with a good percentage of those going in. The defense wasn’t there for Iola, but keep in mind, for a lot of these players it’s their first organized basketball games. After shutting Iola out in the second quarter, Wellsville led 16-2 at halftime, Iola looked a lot better in the second half. The defense, while better, still gave up eight points per quarter but the offense stepped up and got better shots and rebounded much better. While there is still work to be done, you can see a good team coming together and working hard each night. Down the stretch in the fourth quarter, Iola sent Franklin Kerr to the line and he made 1-2 free throws, the only free throws of the night for Iola. Kerr scored three points. Ruger Boren and Landon Shelton both scored two each. The seventh grade A game was tight early. Neither team established a lead despite the Eagles having a slight size advantage over the Mustangs. Iola failed to capitalize on missed shots and allowed Wellsville too many rebounds and second chance shots. Toward the end of the quarter that doomed the Mustangs and Wellsville began to open up a gap. Iola wasn’t able to find good shots often in the first half and turned the ball over too often for their liking while Wellsville got to the paint and finished close to the rim. Wellsville went on a 9-0 run to open the second until Amos Rutoh made a three pointer to put a spark in Iola. Wellsville led 24-12 at the half. The third quarter was much of the same as Wellsville continued to play well on both ends, giving the Mustangs fits. Once the fourth quarter came, Iola stepped up a little bit and made life harder on Wellsville, but at that point Wellsville had established a big enough lead. All the Eagles needed to do was work the clock and escape with the win. Jase Herrmann scored eight points. Amos Rutoh scored six. Austin Crooks scored four. “The train is moving in the right direction for the seventh-graders,” said Iola head coach Ben Wiehn. “They are getting better every practice.” The eighth grade B team started slowly, but so did Wellsville as neither could keep possession of the ball in the first quarter, leading to bad shots. Despite that, Wellsville built up a slight lead. Iola was plagued by turnovers in the second, allowing Wellsville to extend that lead. The Eagles led 9-2 at the half. It was a tale of two halves for the Mustangs though, as they opened the second half on a 10-0 run to take a 10-9 lead halfway through the third. Iola’s offensive dominance would slow toward the end of the quarter as turnovers reared their ugly head again, allowing Wellsville to make up some of the ground lost early in the third.
