Iola High’s Mustangs basketball season came to an end Thursday night in the first round of Class 4A-II Sub-State. Iola lost to Girard 65-24. Girard 65, Iola 24
The game started off on a good note for the Mustangs. Senior Kaden Macha took Iola’s first shot, a 3-pointer that scorched the back of the net. It gave Iola a 3-2 lead 30 seconds into the game.
Shane Walden, another senior, kept Iola ahead. He drove through the lane and made a floating jump shot. On Iola’s next scoring possession, Walden nailed a 3-pointer. The Mustangs led 8-6 with five minutes left in the first.
After that early lead, Girard jumped out in front and controlled the rest of the quarter — and game. Drew Davied hit a 3-pointer to give Girard a 14-8 lead with 2:35 left.
Iola’s Ethan Holloway, part of the newest crop of Mustangs to look forward to seeing some playing time over the next few years, answered with a putback jump shot over the head of Davied. At 14-10 in favor of the Trojans, Iola didn’t get any closer. Girard’s Laike Damman nailed a three as time expired and gave the Trojans a 19-10 lead after the first quarter.
“That’s kind of been our pattern. When we’re on, we’re pretty good,” coach Bill Peeper said. “But, momentum is just a killer because when we’re off, we’re really off. We struggled after the first quarter and the big-three went in at the end. A season’s worth of doubts began to creep in.”
Damman and Davied were the biggest difference in the game. Each player scored 20 points, while everyone else on the Trojans scored in the single digits. Girard did a good job at moving the ball around and finding each other for open baskets.
“We were going to have to play a great game against Girard, they’re a great team,” Peeper said. “They can shoot the ball and have athletes that defend well. That’s a credit to them in a lot of ways.”
Girard extended its lead to 41-16 at halftime. It only got worse in the second half. The Trojans outscored the Mustangs 24-8 in the second half on their way to victory. They will play in the finals today at 7:30 against Prairie View.
“It’s a hard locker room, it’s always tough after the last loss,” Peeper said of the post-game mood. “Things come crashing home for seniors. A lot of things become clear. It’s hard and I feel for them because they’ll never get that (time) back.”
Iola had five players score. Walden led with nine points, Macha and Kohl Endicott each scored six, Holloway had two and Adam Peterson made a free throw.
The team’s six departing seniors are Alex Bauer, Travis Hermstein, Macha, Endicott, Peterson and Walden.
“It’s a cliché, but the four years fly by so fast and all of a sudden it’s just over,” Peeper said. “Then life just moves on. It’s hard. I told them that I’m proud of them as young men, how they conduct themselves, the attitudes they have and the way they work in the classroom.
“There’s so many things we can be proud of. We didn’t have a good basketball season. There’s many things we could of and should of done better. That’s on all of us, including me. At the end, I appreciate the way they represent us.”
The season started the way it finished — a loss at the hands of Girard. In the first game of the season, Iola lost at Girard 60-44 on Dec. 5.
“We knew it was going to be tough coming in,” Peeper said. “What frustrates me is that we didn’t make improvements throughout the year. That’s as much on me as anything. That we, for whatever reason, finished the year not as well as we started. Girard, by contrast, got a lot better.”
Overall, the Mustangs finished the season 4-17.
“It’s a family atmosphere that develops, and it’s just hard when things don’t go well,” Peeper said. “It hurts for all of us.”
Girard (19-22-14-10—65) (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): D. Lindbloom 1-0-1-2, Bailey 0-0-1-0, Goff 1-4-0-6, Damman 4/4-0-0-20, Davied 7/1-3-1-20, Frisbee 0-0-2-0, Wilson 0/1-0-2-3, J. Lindbloom 1-0-2-2, Fisher 0-0-1-0, Green 1-2-3-4, Hamblin 4-0-1-8
Iola (10-6-7-1—24) (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Cooper 0-0-2-0, Endicott 2-2-0-6, Taylor 0-0-1-0, Hermstein 0-0-1-0, Walden 2/1-2-2-9, Bauer 0-0-3-0, Macha 0/2-0-4-6, Holloway 1-0-0-2, Peterson 0-1-3-1
Mustangs season comes to end
