For the second time in less than a week, Yates Center and Marmaton Valley High’s boys were locked in a tight battle for much of the first half.
And for the second time in a row, Marmaton Valley’s pressure defense helped pave the way to victory.
Marmaton Valley outscored Yates Center 22-5 in the third quarter to pull away for a 48-30 victory in first round of Iola’s War on 54 Midseason Tournament.
Marmaton Valley advances to play Anderson County at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Iola High School gymnasium. Yates Center falls to the consolation bracket and will play St. Paul at about 8 p.m. in the elementary school.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done,” Marmaton Valley head coach Cornell Walls said. “They had a good scouting report, and we were a little stagnant early.”
Yates Center centered its defense inside to limit touches by Marmaton Valley’s Brayden Lawson.
Marmaton Valley, conversely, was just as effective at limiting clean looks at the bucket, Yates Center head coach Lane Huffman said.
“The defense did exactly what I asked,” he said. “Our offense just isn’t there yet.”
Jaedon Granere came off the bench to hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter as MV stretched a 5-4 lead to 16-12 at halftime.
Marmaton Valley’s pressure turned the tide when the teams returned from the locker room.
Eight MV players scored in the third quarter, turning a four-point lead into a 38-17 margin.
“Once we got things going on defense, that helped our offense,” Walls noted.
“We got sped up, just like before,” Huffman said. “They run a good press, but we beat ourselves. You’re not gonna win many games scoring 30.”
Granere paced MV with 12 points, followed by Tyler Lord — who missed Friday’s first showdown because of Illness — with 10.
Ben Cook found his shooting stroke for Yates Center in the second half, and wound up with 15. Evan McVey scored seven.
