CARBONDALE — The Iola Mustangs needed a pick-me-up. As the third quarter inched near a close, they were behind Santa Fe Trail 31-27 on Tuesday night in Carbondale.
That’s when Isaiah Fawson came to the rescue, guiding Iola to a 56-51 win.
The senior guard had been struggling from the field all evening and his automatic jump shot wasn’t falling, so late in the third he changed gears and began to attack the basket to try to get a rhythm.
“My first half, I couldn’t shoot at all, so we focused on getting it inside to the posts,” Fawson said. “I decided to stop shooting and drive instead.”
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It started with a layup to cut the margin to 31-29, then after another drive, he was fouled and converted on a pair of free throws to tie the game.
Even so, Fawson hadn’t connected from three-point range yet.But that quickly changed as well as he extended his range in a major way to close the third quarter.
As the buzzer sounded, Fawson launched a three-quarters court shot which banked off the glass and right through the net.
A shot of electricity coursed through the stunned Iola bench and crowd that made the hour-and-a-half journey north well worth the effort.
“I hit that shot and it got our momentum going and from there… yeah,” Fawson said referring to the fourth quarter where Iola was able to build on the momentum.
Fawson began the fourth quarter with another score and he had eighth and ninth straight points as the senior single-handedly turned a four-point deficit into a five-point lead.
Santa Fe Trail continued to fight back and cut the lead to 38-37 at one point, but back-to-back baskets from Ben Cooper and Zach Cokely padded the lead once more.
The Chargers cut the margin to 48-44 on a basket by John Long who finished with 23 points.
After Long’s basket, the Charger student section began to chant, “You can’t stop him.”
Iola forward Ethan Holloway quickly reminded the Chargers who they couldn’t stop and drove to the baseline before finishing with a flip-shot in the lane.
“I just feel like when I’m in one-on-one coverage, coaches always tell me to work down there, so I’m used to just getting around people and scoring when it’s one-on-one,” Holloway said.
