After a disappointing return Monday following a 10-day layoff, the Iola Mustangs found their footing Tuesday with a 60-51 victory over Erie.
Although separated by only 9 points, Tuesday’s senior night regular season finale was not as close as it would seem as the Mustangs took control early and did not relent until Coach Luke Bycroft pulled his starters late in the fourth quarter with his team ahead 56-45.
“It was a good response to last night. We had a lot more energy,” Bycroft said. “There are some things I wish we could have done a little cleaner, but honestly I felt like we had some good stretches where we took care of the ball.”
Iola senior guard Cortland Carson, who scored a team-leading 27 points in his final home-court appearance, got hot early. He scored Iola’s first 7 points on a pair of drives and a 3-pointer. Forward Lucas Maier got into the action soon after, asserting himself on a put-back to give Iola a 10-point advantage. Although Erie rallied back into contention while looking to play senior night spoiler, Bycroft believes rebounding ultimately kept momentum in Iola’s favor.
“I can take a shot and basically have a second chance,” said Carson, who officials recognized with a banner commemorating his passing 1,000 career points following the girls game. “In a game like that, it definitely helps a lot just getting second chance opportunities.”
Carson’s 11-point third quarter, as well as a pair of 3-pointers by guards Nick Bauer and Austin Crooks allowed Iola to pull away. With minutes left on the clock, Coach Bycroft pulled his seniors, prompting applause of the home crowd.
With the win, the Mustangs end the season with an 8-12 record overall. As a middle seed in the sub-state tournament, Iola faces a tough road ahead. However, while other teams feel the pressure of expectations from conference titles and winning records, the Mustangs do not. Maier and company believe that’s what makes Iola dangerous moving forward.
“Our record doesn’t determine anything moving forward in terms of the postseason,” Maier said. “We’ve had some tough matchups, a tough schedule, but I genuinely don’t think our record determines anything. Riverton is beatable, and all of the other teams are as well.”
Although facing higher-seeded teams from here on out, Coach Bycroft said he likes Iola’s chances of a lengthy postseason run if the Mustangs can get past Riverton.
“I like where we’re at in the bracket and where we fall,” Bycroft said. “I think we got a good chance. If we take care of the ball and rebound like we did tonight, we have a good chance at moving on. If we do that, I like our next matchup after that, but we can’t look that far ahead just yet.”
Iola (26-11-19-8—28)
FG/3pt FT F TP
Crooks 2/1 0 0 7
Bauer 1/1 0 2 5
Jones 0 0 1 0
Dougherty 2 0 1 4
Beckmon 0 0 1 0
Carson 9/2 3 2 27
Wilson 2 1 1 5
Kaufman 1 0 2 2
Maier 5 0 1 10
Nemecek 0 0 1 0
Totals 22/4 4 12 60
Erie (10-12-20-9—51)
Hughes 1 1 2 4
Montee 0 0 1 0
Richenburg 3 0 1 9
Duff 10/1 8 2 30
Daniels 2 0 2 4
Strathe 0 0 1 0
Reissig 1 0 3 2
Haviland 0 0 1 0
