PITTSBURG Fans got a glimpse of what the Iola boys could be Tuesday night in their 64-48 loss at St. Marys-Colgan.
For a period midway through the first half, the Mustangs were rolling. The offense was clicking, the defense was on-point and the Mustangs found themselves with a 10-point lead on the road over the fifth-ranked team in class 2A. Not too bad for a team that got blown off their home court by Burlington a week before.
But despite showing flashes of what could be greatness down the road, the Mustangs eventually fell back to earth, evening out their overall record at 3-3 so far this season.
We played well for a good portion of the game, but I feel theres so much more that we can do and thats what Im frustrated with, said coach Luke Bycroft. Were getting better and you can see that. Im not furious that we lost but Im definitely frustrated because you can see when we do things the right way how good of a team we can be.
Similarly to Iolas win Friday at Prairie View, the Mustang dominated on the boards early which allowed them to really take control and look at least for the first 10 minutes like they were going to run right through Colgan.
We were rebounding like men, Bycroft said. We were boxing out and getting the ball and then we were pushing it in transition and finding great shots. But then as soon as they called timeout, they had three possessions in a row where they got offensive rebounds. When we take over the boards, we take over the game.
The fall back to earth started with back-to-back threes by Colgan senior Dalton VanBecelaere right after Iola took their 10-point lead.
Even so, Iola kept a slim advantage through the first half and almost went into halftime with a 5-0 lead, but a three at the buzzer by 66 Panther senior Aaron Higginbotham cut their lead to two.
Both teams jockeyed for the lead throughout the third quarter before getting stuck at 39 up until the buzzer when VanBecelaere hit a three to jump ahead of Iola heading into the fourth quarter.
Thats on me, Bycroft said. I told them that we werent really worried about any of their shooters aside from (Higginbotham) but credit (VanBecelaere) because he came out and hit three huge shots that changed the game.
The Panthers hit another three to start the fourth quarter and that marked the end for Iola as that six-point lead proved too much for the Mustang offense to overcome.
We had a lot of good looks in the second half that didnt fall, Bycroft said. And were not so accomplished as a team that we can have a stretch like that and get away with it. Weve got to knock down easy looks at the bucket.
Colgan increased its lead steadily down the stretch and got it to as much as 14 by the end of the game.
Junior Cal Leonard led the Mustangs in scoring with 16 followed by 10 for seniors Kane Rogers and Derek Bycroft, five for senior Blake Ashmore and junior Calvin Delich and two from junior Noah Ashmore.
With the first third of the season behind them, the Mustangs head into winter break with hopes of continuing their steady improvement.
Were 3-3 but thats not the end of the world, Bycroft said. Weve still got a lot of guys learning new roles, were learning the nuances of running a new offense and were learning how to defend without someone like Ethan Holloway who set the school record for blocks last season.
