PITTSBURG — Monday night gave Iola High head coach Luke Bycroft plenty to enjoy.
The Mustangs were dominant in the first half, exploding to a 34-15 win over host St. Mary’s Colgan.
And while there were a few hiccups down the stretch — Iola committed twice as many turnovers in the second half as it did in the first — the Mustangs still were able to cruise to a 57-43 victory
The win lifts Iola to 5-1 on the season.
“We showed what type of team we can be in the first half,” Bycroft said.
The Panthers upped the defensive intensity after halftime, a strategy that slowed Iola’s offense considerably, but a move that could pay off for the Mustangs in the long run, Bycroft said.
“They really started getting physical, and were getting sloppy, and a little frustrated,” he said. “It got to be a pretty physical game.”
Iola’s Bradyn Cole was the early star, scoring eight in the first quarter and 12 in the first half. Landon Carson’s 3-pointer late in the first quarter pushed Iola’s lead to double digits, 17-7.
The Panthers stayed within shouting distance early in the second period, before Dillon Bycroft scored on a pair of nifty buckets for the Mustangs to push the lead to 29-15. A Carson 3-pointer, followed by a Nathan Louk bucket pushed the halftime margin to 34-15.
Much of the offense came courtesy of Iola’s defense, Coach Bycroft said.
“We were getting after it on D,” he said. “They were dribble driving into what we were wanting them to do, and we were helping on the ball pretty well.
“And that let us run,” he continued. “We got down the floor and got some easy points.”
Louk was an early protagonist, scoring six of his eight points before halftime.
Colgan’s Nick Ison cut Iola’s lead to 17 late in the third quarter before Carson drilled back-to-back 3-pointers, pushing the Mustangs back on top 49-29 after three.
Things got sloppy after that.
Doug Brown’s 3-pointer and a Blaise Dawson field goal pulled Colgan within 53-39 with 2:39 left.
Dillon Bycroft hit a pair of free throws before Dawson connected again from three, slicing the Mustang lead to 55-42.
Jack Adams secured a key steal on Colgan’s next possession, which led to a Tyler Boeken layup to keep things well in hand.
