Iola Middle School’s boys played their first home games of the season Thursday. They won two and lost two against visiting Royster Middle School of Chanute.
In the final game of the night, the Ponies played catch-up from the beginning. Iola’s eighth-grade A-team lost 38-31 to the Rockets.
“We lost this game before we walked out of the locker room. We just were not ready to play tonight. That’s my fault,” said Marty Taylor, IMS head coach.
Royster was up 5-0 quick and led 16-10 at halftime. The Rockets outscored the Ponies 14-9 in the third quarter. Iola made a run, 13-9, in the fourth but came up short.
Brice Aiello fired in 19 points and controlled eight rebounds for Iola. Taylor said Aiello was active on both sides of the floor and played extremely hard.
Gus Hopkins added six points and Brett Taylor had five. Each of them pulled down three rebounds. Sagar Patel had two points and two rebounds.
Iola’s eighth-grade B-team dominated, winning 24-8. Dodger Beckham led the way with eight points and Patel added seven.
Jake Gumfory scored five points. Isiah Shaughnessy and Brandt Houk each tossed in two points.
The seventh-grade Ponies also controlled the A-team game from the opening tip. Iola led Royster 8-0 after one quarter and held a 19-4 halftime advantage.
At the end of three quarter, the Ponies were up 29-9. Royster had a 14-4 run to end the game. Iola win 43-23.
“Just a very good effort from these kids,” Taylor said. “They came out and attacked on both ends and got the job done.”
Chase Regehr and Braden Plumlee had the edge inside for Iola. Regehr scored nine points and had six rebounds while Plumlee had six points and nine rebounds.
Gage Cleaver, Ben Cooper and Ethan Scheibmeir each scored four points. Scoring two points each were Garrett Wade, Mason Ingle and Joey Zimmerman.
“Our guards were patient and Chase and Braden did a good job inside. The guys off the bench got a chance to play the whole fourth quarter and did a good job,” Taylor said.
Royster won the seventh-grade B-team game 24-13. Colton Toney was top scorer for Iola with three points.
Scoring two points apiece were Zimmerman, Zane Beasley, Rhett Allen, Darius Greenawalt and Mason Ingle.
The Pony teams host Parsons Middle School next Thursday.
Ponies win two of four games at home against the Rockets
