The Iola Mustangs will battle the Humboldt Cubs for a chance to play in the War of 54 championship Thursday after defeating the No. 9 ranked Crest Lancers 69-54 Tuesday.
Iola’s full-court press and strong play in the paint limited Crest’s second-chance opportunities.
The win made it three in a row for the Mustangs.
“I feel pretty good about our chances against Humboldt, but there are some things from tonight we have to clean up at practice,” Iola coach Luke Bycroft said. “We don’t want to be over-confident, that’s for sure. We need to toughen up our defense and stop the turnovers. Humboldt is going to come ready to play.”
Crest junior guard Lane Yocham hit a 3-pointer and sophomore guard Kole Walter scored a bucket to put the Lancers on the scoreboard early.
Yocham scored seven 3-pointers while netting a team-leading 25 points.
“It’s just my coach getting me open and my teammates setting good picks,” Yocham said of his success.
Iola’s defense, however, limited the Lancers’ overall opportunities.
Using their size advantage, Iola senior guard Nick Bauer worked the ball in the paint for junior forward Keegan Hill and sophomore forward Reed Clift.
Hill ended the night with a team-leading 19 points. Clift and Crooks scored 15 points apiece, followed by Bauer with nine and sophomore forward Mosiah Fawson with six. Clift, who had a double-double Friday against Wellsville, said he feels their skill level and confidence growing week by week.
“Coach talks about aggressiveness and bringing energy, and I liked my match-up a lot,” Clift said about his own play Tuesday. “He was better than most people that guard me, so I figured I could do most of my work in the paint. The team fed me the ball, and I was able to get some shots up. I’m just figuring varsity out. I started out slow, but I’m picking the pace up and feeling more confident.”
Junior guard Austin Crooks led the Mustangs with eight rebounds, followed by Bauer with seven. Bauer also had a team-leading eight assists, followed by Crooks and Hill with three each.
As for the 1A Lancers, they held their own against the 3A Mustangs. With 35 points over the third and fourth quarters, Crest proved their mettle.
“We know we’re a good team. We just have to get back to where we were, playing a little more consistent, a little tougher and a little faster,” Coach Dakota Sporing said. 
With the loss, the Lancers fell to 9-3. They will play in the fifth-place game Friday at Iola Elementary School. A potential three-way tie between Cherryvale, Anderson County and Eureka in the other pool play bracket means the Lancers will not know who they face until the conclusion of Thursday’s contests.
As for Iola, their fate depends on the conclusion of Thursday’s contests as well, but they look forward to controlling what they can when they face Humboldt at 6:30 p.m. at the IHS gym.
