The Iola Mustangs saw a 20-point lead crumble to pieces during Wednesday night’s first round substate matchup against Louisburg.
Iola led 50-30 to start the fourth quarter, followed by a Wildcat trey, when senior point guard Calvin Delich received a double-technical foul for comments directed toward the referee.
The words resulted in Delich’s ejection, and the massive momentum swing Louisburg had been seeking. Though the Wildcats forced the game into overtime, the Mustangs held on for the 77-68 victory.
“The moment was big, but it shouldn’t have affected us the way it did,” Iola head coach Luke Bycroft said. “It’s not all on him (Delich), it’s on the rest of the guys not being able to step back out there.”
Louisburg opened the first with a pair of 3-pointers, but it was all Mustangs after that. A put-back bucket from Tyler Boeken followed by a trey and jumper at the elbow from Landon Carson put Iola ahead 7-6.
Cal Leonard connected from deep to further stretch Iola’s lead, and Dillon Bycroft converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to put the Mustangs ahead 15-10 heading into the second quarter.
The Mustangs constructed a 14-4 run, taking a 30-14 lead with 2:41 left in the second quarter. Iola failed to score the rest of the period, but its stout defense and control of the glass kept them sitting pretty at intermission, leading 30-16.
“I knew that if we defended and rebounded against these guys, we were going to have a chance to win this game,” Bycroft said. “We did that for three quarters, and we got up on them.”
The Mustangs opened the second half with back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers, with two coming from Carson and one from Dillon. The duo led the Mustangs in scoring on the night, Carson finished with 31 points and Dillon posted a season-high of 18. 
Another 3-pointer from Carson with 42 seconds remaining in the third gave Iola its largest lead of 20, an advantage they held into the fourth, leading 50-30.
Delich’s ejection came within the first minute of the fourth quarter. Down 14 after the technical free throws, the Wildcats pulled within nine on two separate occasions before Carson bumped Iola’s lead back up to 12 just under the halfway point.
The Wildcats didn’t rest easy, engineering a 9-0 run to pull within three with 2:01 remaining. Louisburg later pulled within one after the bucket from Ben Guetterman, making the score 57-56 with 1:13 left. Guetterman later tied it at 62-62 with 2.9 seconds remaining, leaving time for one last-ditch effort in regulation for the Mustangs. Carson’s halfcourt prayer missed wide of the mark, meaning overtime was on the cards.
Despite relinquishing the 20-point lead in the fourth, the Mustangs resumed their focus in the extra period. A free throw and a fast-break score from Carson followed by a nice dish from Bycroft to Bradyn Cole put Iola ahead 67-64 with two minutes remaining. The duo provided answers when needed, combing to convert 8 of 10 from the line in OT, helping Iola edge Louisburg 77-68.
Also finishing in double figures was Leonard with 11, who Bycroft commended for his all around team effort.
“They were working hard, and focusing on Cal,” Bycroft said. “Cal didn’t force a lot of his shots, and helped let other guys make plays tonight.”
The Mustangs will travel to No. 2 seed Kansas City Piper on Saturday, with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m. The Pirates are ranked No.1 in class 4A, and faced Louisburg earlier in the year. The Wildcats battled, but fell short, losing 68-61.
