KANSAS CITY — Kansas City Piper High’s Tamar Bates made an impact early and often in the Pirates’ 68-30 victory over the Iola Mustangs on Saturday.
The four-star recruit — who’s under the gaze of Kansas, Kansas State, and Wichita State — corralled the ball in midair, and comfortably completed the alley-oop with a one-handed flush for Piper’s first score. The awestruck Mustangs were left in limbo from that point on.
“I think right off the bat with it being on the first possession, it kind of changed our attitude,” Iola head coach Luke Bycroft said. “In the first quarter you could tell that we were a little overwhelmed. They didn’t do anything different that we talked about and worked on in practice, but it is just hard to duplicate that speed in practice.”
The Pirates led 11-0 with 4:02 remaining in the first quarter before Bycroft elected to use a timeout. Out of the break, another missed Mustang possession turned into a fast break finished off by another Bates slam. Cal Leonard finally got the Mustangs on the board after nearly six scoreless minutes, but the Mustangs trailed 20-3 heading into the second.
Bates scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half, and was complimented well by post player Christian Arndt, who finished with a team high 17 points. But in the second, one player stood out among both sides.
Iola’s Dillon Bycroft fearlessly attacked any Pirate defender standing in his path, scoring all 12 of Iola’s points in the second quarter. Dillon finished as Iola’s leading scorer with 13 points. Despite Dillon’s second-quarter boost, the Mustangs trailed 43-15 at the half.
“Dillon played with confidence, got around them, and was able to draw foul on them,” Bycroft said. “He was aggressive, and we needed more guys to play like that. There were opportunities to get to the basket all night long because of how they pressured us on the perimeter.”
Bradyn Cole scored six points in the third to lead the Mustangs. Leonard closed the quarter with a 3-pointer, his final trey of his Mustang career as the Mustangs trailed 59-25 entering the fourth.
While the clock continued to tick in the fourth, buckets from seniors Calvin Delich and Leonard, along with free throws from Dillon and Cooper Riley were the only points scored by Iola in the fourth. Piper steadily cruised in the final period, earning the 68-30 victory.
The loss ends Iola’s season with an 11-10 record, and Bycroft is optimistic that his solid class of juniors can grow on this season.
“There are so many things we learned this year as players and coaches,” Bycroft said. “I think next year is going to be a bright year. We had four seniors, but only two of them played due to injuries. We have a lot of guys coming back that played minutes, and that is huge.”
BOX SCORE
Iola (3-12-9-6—30) (pts): Bycroft 13, Leonard 8, Cole 6, Delich 2, Riley 1.
Piper (20-23-16-9—68) (pts): Bates 14, Shelley 3, Taylor-Cantu 6, Briggs 9, Beashave 3, Bassett 6, Eskina 6, Arndt 17, Jarvis 2.
