RICHMOND — After a strong start to the game Iola High’s Mustangs collapsed in a 65-50 loss to Central Heights on Friday night. THE JV Mustangs won 59-47. Joey Zimmerman scored five points, Isaiah Fawson added 16, Braden Plumlee had 12, Chase Regehr scored six, Isaac Vink had four, Brice Ailleo scored two, Rhett Allen scored two, Ethan Holloway scored two, Mason Ingle added eight and Sagar Patel scored two. THE FRESHMEN won 57-33. Ethan Tavarez scored seven, Cale Barnhart had five, Isaac Vink scored five, Nick Vaughn scored six, Zach Cokely scored 12, Evan Sigg scored 18 and Matt Miller scored four. Central Heights 65, Iola 50
A ‘strong start’ it was. The Mustangs led 16-3 after the first quarter. It was one of the best starts Iola has had this season. Adam Peterson, Kaden Macha and Shane Walden each had four points. Brett Taylor had a 3-pointer and Kohl Endicott made a free throw.
“It turned into a disaster in a hurry,” coach Bill Peeper said. “We couldn’t stop anybody on defense. Obviously, they were knocking shots down. They were getting whatever shots they wanted. We didn’t respond. We had 13 turnovers in the first half against a team that’s not putting on any pressure. That’s just not going to get it done.”
The game was quite a different story from the second quarter until the buzzer sounded in the fourth. It didn’t help that Central Heights hit 12 3-pointers. They could have closed their eyes and the ball might have found the back of the net with how effortless the Vikings made it look. Matt Percy hit all five of his threes in the second half — he scored 21 points.
“We’re mentally so fragile. When things start to go against us, we can’t get out of our own way,” Peeper said. “We struggle to make the easy plays. It was a frustrating loss without a doubt. It sure stings because it doesn’t have to be like that.”
In the second quarter, the Vikings used four 3-pointers to help outscored Iola 20-7 to tie the game at 23-23 going into halftime. Macha hit a 3-pointer to open the quarter and gave Iola a 19-3 lead, but after that it was all Vikings.
Central Heights took control with a 26-12 advantage in the third quarter. This time, they hit six 3-pointers. Iola trailed 49-35.
The Mustangs tried to get back into the game in the fourth quarter. Macha hit consecutive 3-pointers, but the Mustangs were down 52-41 with 5:45 left. After Peterson hit a basket in the paint with 5:20 left, Iola trailed 55-43. Iola started a full-court press, which seemed to work.
Taylor hit the ball on an attempted pass and it went towards center court. Macha appeared to save it and get it to an Iola player, but the whistle blew late for a backcourt violation. Mustang fans could be heard yelling after the call.
It was a critical play in the game because Iola was on its last breath. Regardless, its hard to win when a team makes 12 3-pointers.
“You think you’re making some steps forward, taking some strides and we came out feeling good about ourselves,” Peeper said. “But, for whatever reason, we apparently thought we were good enough not to play hard anymore.”
Iola beat Central Heights 77-47 at a home contest on Dec. 16. This loss wasn’t expected, but the Vikings were in that game until late in the third quarter.
“That 30-point game was kind of deceiving because it was about a three or four point game at the end of the third,” Peeper said. “Then we went on that big run. When a team gets hot, that’s one thing. They were playing at home, they were excited.”
Iola (4-11) hosts Prairie View on Thursday.
Central Heights (3-20-26-16—65) (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Percy 1/5-4-1-21, Masingale 0-0-1-0, Brown 2-4-4-8, Smith 0/1-0-0-3, Watson 1/1-7-1-12, Holter 0/2-2-3-8, Brown 0/3-4-2-13
Iola (16-7-12-15—50) (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Cooper 2-0-5-4, Regehr 0-0-2-0, Endicott 0-1-3-1, Taylor 2/1-0-2-7, Hermstein 0-0-1-0, Walden 3-2-4-8, Bauer 0-0-1-0, Macha 3/4-3-18, Holloway 0-0-3-0, Peterson 5-2-2-12
3-pointers bury Mustangs
