Iola Middle School’s eighth-graders may have run out of gas down the stretch in Saturday’s 39-30 loss to Burlington.
The Mustangs were locked in a tense, back-and-forth struggle for the championship title of the Pioneer League Tournament.
The teams traded leads six times to go along with three ties through the first three quarters before Iola’s Jaxen Mueller corralled a steal and a layup at the third quarter buzzer to push Iola ahead, 28-26.
But the Mustangs saw their offense go cold in the fourth quarter.
Burlington ended the game with a 13-2 run to secure the victory.
The loss gives the IMS eighth-graders second place in the postseason tournament, to go along with the second-place regular season finish.
Milo Franklin scored nine points to lead the way for Iola, followed by Jayson Dorius and Mueller with six each.
Cade Curry scored four, Ty Thomas and Kaiden Jones scored two each, and Austin Campbell had one.
LEADING UP to the championship berth, the Mustangs defeated Prairie View, 39-30, in the semifinals.
Iola led 17-12 at the break before stretching the margin to 29-17.
The Buffalos made a run early in the fourth quarter before Iola’s Campbell took over down the stretch. He scored eight of his game-high 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Franklin followed with 11, and Mueller scored six. Curry and Jones each scored five.
The eighth-graders finish the season with an 11-3 record, after going 10-4 as seventh-graders.
