Mustangs drop double overtime heartbreaker

GIRARD — In a wondrously exasperating display of hustle, grit and missed opportunities, Iola High’s boys and their hosts from Girard battled to the wire and beyond Friday.
Both teams will be hard pressed to match the intensity and excitement of Friday’s season-opener, which went into double overtime before Girard emerged with a 60-54 victory.
Despite the gut-wrenching loss — both teams had multiple opportunities to claim the win at the end of regulation and the first overtime — Iola head coach Bill Peeper found several silver linings.
“We’ll be better from this in the long run,” Peeper said. “It was a tough way to find how we could handle certain situations. There’s just no way you can prepare for all the things you’ll find in a double overtime game like this.”
What the team lacked in execution, the Mustangs nearly made up for through sheer determination.
Nowhere was this more evident than in the frenetic final seconds of regulation, with Girard up 41-40 with the ball.
Iola fouled the Trojans’ Austin O’Dell, who missed the free throw, then was whistled for his fifth foul in an ill-advised lunge at a potential rebound.
The Mustangs’ Tyler McIntosh missed the subsequent free throw, which led to another scrum for the ball, before Mason Coons took possession for Iola. He, too, was fouled as he put up a shot at the buzzer.
With no time left, both teams emptied the floor to leave Coons alone to shoot two free throws, and hundreds of screaming Girard fans hoping to distract him.
Coons’ first shot bounced off the back rim and fell, sending the crowd into delirium.
He calmly took aim at the second free throw and swished the attempt to tie the game.
“I was just proud of Mason for being able to hit the second shot,” Peeper said.
The Mustangs proved they wouldn’t go easily in the first overtime, despite losing McIntosh and Tyler Powelson to fouls.
Girard led 47-45 when Iola junior Adam Kauth’s steal and layup with less than 30 seconds left in the first overtime again knotted the score.
The Trojans missed a pair of field goal attempts, the final one bouncing off the rim at the buzzer, sending the teams to the second extra session.
Trent Latta connected on a layup to start the second overtime, then Kauth hit a pair of free throws to give the Mustangs a 51-50 lead.
But Girard’s Trenton Stolte scored inside with 2:12 left on the clock to give the Trojans a one-point lead.
Coons’ 3-point attempt on Iola’s next possession did everything but drop, hitting both side of the rim before rattling out.
Girard corralled the rebound and never trailed again.
The teams battled back and forth through the first half before Coons took control, scoring 12 points in the final six minutes before intermission to give the Mustangs a 27-24 lead.
“Mason is primed to do some big things for us this year, if he keeps working hard in practice,” Peeper said.
The Mustangs then held Girard scoreless for the final 4:16 of the third period, with McIntosh scoring five straight points for Iola. Coons’ layup late in the period gave Iola a 35-30 cushion.
But several empty possessions early in the fourth quarter allowed Girard to reclaim the lead. The Trojans outscored Iola 9-2 to take a 39-37 lead. Coons hit a free throw with 1:39 on the clock and McIntosh scored with 40 seconds left to return the lead to Iola, 40-39. Girard’s Kody Grilz scored from inside to push Girard on top 41-40 and set up the scintillating final moments of regulation.
Coons had another inside shot rattle out after Girard took the lead for the final time. And earlier in the first overtime, a Coons 3-pointer was negated after Peeper had called timeout from the sideline a split second before he released the shot.
“I felt horrible,” Peeper said. “There are things we can work on, but the guys showed a lot of heart. You can’t fault their effort. We only had two players with any real varsity experience before tonight.”
Coons led Iola with 16 points and five rebounds, followed by Latta with 12 points, three steals and two assists.
Powelson and McIntosh also had five boards for the Mustangs.
Iola (9-18-8-6-6-7—54)
Girard (11-10-6-11-6-13—60)
Iola (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Latta 4/1-1-5-12, Ashmore 0/1-3-3-6, Coons 4/1-7-3-18, Morrison 0-0-1-0, McIntosh 1-0-5-0, Zimmerman 0-0-1-0, Macha 0-4-0-4, Kauth 2-3-4-7, Powelson 2-1-5-5.
Girard: Peck 0-0-2-0, Alters 4-3-3-11, George 2-2-3-6, Stolte 7-5-2-19, Damman 0-0-1-0, Davied 0/2-4-2-10, Grilz 2/2-1-5-11, O’Dell 0-3-5-3. .