Just nine seconds and two points made three-quarters of disappointing basketball disappear for the Iola boys Wednesday evening when the Mustangs beat Prairie View at home in overtime, 65-60.
The win moves Iola to 9-8 overall so far this season. Theyve won three of their last four.
What I told the boys was this wasnt our best effort, head coach Luke Bycroft said. It wasnt our best game executing what we want to do offensively and defensively. We didnt take care of the ball very well. But it may have been our best showing of heart and toughness. Things werent easy and we struggled. But we found a way.
Iola was hot off of a 12-2 run that got them back into the game after they trailed by 12 with five minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
Junior Cal Leonard nailed the first of two huge threes with 11.5 seconds to play to get Iola within a point. Prairie View went 1-2 from the free throw line on their next possession and that left Iola down two with nine seconds and the full length of the court to go.
The ball went in the hands of trusty senior point guard Derek Bycroft who already showed his ability to be clutch with a game-winning jump shot to beat Wellsville back in January.
Bycroft drove the length of the court at a full sprint, splitting three Praire View defenders for the game-tying lay-up.
We’re headed to OT after Derek Bycroft tied things up at 53 with this lay-up: pic.twitter.com/gFCX0CvwOE
Iola Register Sports (@IolaSports) February 14, 2019
Hes just a competitor, coach Bycroft said. He doesnt let things get to him. From when he first started pitching in baseball when he was 10 or 11, the one word I yell every time he gets in trouble is compete. Youve got to keep moving forward. The play was designed for him to drive to the hoop and if the shot wasnt there, kick it out to Cal who was trailing. But he split the guys and got the shot. Hes unfazed by tough situations.
With the game tied, things moved to overtime.
Things went back-and-forth with Iola keeping ahead by a nose but it was Leonard again who stepped back to NBA three-point range for a dagger to put the Mustangs up 61-58 with 35 seconds to play.
Leonard ended the night with 23 points which marks the second straight game that hes scored 20 or more.
He really is one of the best shooters around when he lets the game come to him, Bycroft said of Leonard. And he always has been that way so his deal is that he just needs to relax and shoot in the flow and rhythm and when he does that he really is a dynamic scorer. He really is.
The Buffalos frantic looks at the basket didnt go as the final seconds waned and Iola completed its comeback.
