WELLSVILLE — Iola Middle School’s seventh-grade boys went 2-0 Saturday to win the Wellsville Invitational Tournament.
The Pony eighth-graders, meanwhile, went 1-1 to capture third place in their division.
The seventh-graders raced to a 23-5 lead over host Wellsville in the opener to win 31-14.
A 9-0 third-quarter run in the championship match against Anderson County pushed the Ponies to a 21-18 victory and the title.
“Any time you can win a tournament you have to be happy for the kids,” Pony head coach Marty Taylor said. “Our basketball IQ has to get better, but the boys are putting out the effort.”
Isaac Vink led the Ponies in the win over Wellsville with 13 points, followed by Matt Komma with eight points and five rebounds. Evan Sigg followed with four points and three boards. Nick Vaughn and Dalton Ryherd scored two points each.
Sigg took high-scoring honors for Iola in the championship game with 10 points and eight rebounds. Ethan Holloway followed with seven points and 14 rebounds. Komma had two points and 15 boards and Vink scored two points.
“Isaac Vink really got us going in the first game,” Taylor said. “He hit some shots that got us out of a slow start.
“Evan Sigg had a nice run in the third quarter that got us over the hump against (Anderson County),” Taylor said.
The Ponies won the title despite being outscored by Anderson County 9-1 in the fourth quarter.
IN EIGHTH-GRADE action, Wellsville raced to a 19-8 halftime lead, then put the game away with a 6-2 run that spanned the third quarter of a 27-14 win.
Iola rebounded to defeat Baldwin 40-29 in the third-place contest.
“We just weren’t ready to play against Wellsville,” Taylor said, “but the kids regrouped and gave a great effort against a pretty good Baldwin team.”
Braden Plumlee led Iola with six points and five rebounds in the Wellsville contest, followed by Chase Regehr with five points and 10 rebounds. Joey Zimmerman and Garrett Wade added two and one points, respectively.
The Ponies were the epitome of balanced scoring in the win over Baldwin. Zimmerman, Regehr, Ben Cooper and Ethan Scheibmeir each scored eight points. Regehr pulled in nine rebounds. Wade had four points and four rebounds. Plumlee had four points and seven boards.
“Joey was fantastic against Baldwin,” Taylor said. “His improvement over last year has been a big shot in the arm for us.”
Iola resumes play today at home against Independence.
