In a rematch of the season opener, the Iola Mustangs took on the Anderson County Bulldogs for the War on 54 Basketball Tournament title Friday night.
The Mustangs broke into the championship game after demolishing Allen County rival Humboldt 76-39 thanks in part to a 24-point performance by Iola junior forward Keegan Hill, capped off by a thunderous fourth-quarter dunk.
“Humboldt is a good team, and the first half wasn’t great,” Hill said. “We turned it on in the second half and did what we needed to do. I’m excited. We’ve worked so hard to come this far. We’re ready for Anderson County.”
Although ultimately separated by a 37-point margin, the Humboldt Cubs held up their end of a first-quarter slugfest.
Senior guard Hayden Kelley, junior guard Luke Coronado, senior forward Mason Sterling and junior forward Thatcher Mueller got on the scoreboard. Kelley, who transferred from Iola last year, remained consistent while scoring a team-leading 17 points. 
But as Iola increased the physicality, evenly distributing fouls to enhance their presence in the paint, Humboldt’s consistency faltered, as much of their second-half production came from the free-throw line.
“I thought we played well tonight, and the score is what it is, but our guys battled all night,” Humboldt coach Kason Siemens said. “Iola is long, and they’re deep, and they made a lot of shots. Any time you get hot like that and start knocking down shots, it’s tough to defend that. I’m not mad at the guys. We’ll regroup.”
FOLLOWING a 12-12 stalemate in the first quarter, Iola went on a 24-11 run to end the half. A pair of 3-pointers by junior guard Austin Crooks, a trio of close-range buckets by Hill and 3-pointers by junior guard Roy Gordon and sophomore forward Mosiah Fawson put the Cubs out of contention. Crooks ended the night tied with sophomore forward Reed Clift for second in scoring with 10 points each. Hill had a team-leading six rebounds, followed by senior guard Nick Bauer and Clift with four boards each.
“We’re in the place we want to be. We’re in the championship of our own tournament,” Iola coach Luke Bycroft said. “We want to be in that position every year. Last year, we didn’t get to be in this position because we stumbled along the way. Our guys are excited. Anderson County is a rival, and our last game was pretty close. We’re going to have to be great on the defensive end and strong on the offensive end.”
Although Iola is also a member of the Pioneer League, the contest will not count in their Pioneer League standings.
But the Bulldogs may be looking to settle a score and after Iola defeated Garnett 59-55 in the Mustangs’ season opener. Winning the War on 54 championship inside Iola’s gym would accomplish that goal.
“We know some of the stuff they’re going to do and the players they have,” Bycroft said. “Since we know them so well, I think we’re excited about that match-up, but we’re definitely excited to play for a championship on our home floor.”
HUMBOLDT fell to 2-10 with the loss and face a fellow Tri-Valley League foe in Cherryvale (5-8, 1-2) for third place Friday. The Cubs too have a score to settle after the Chargers escaped Humboldt with a 59-46 victory earlier this season.
“One more win, and we’re two and one here. That’s the focus now,” Siemens said. “I told them, ‘Erase this one and let’s come back tomorrow.’ We did some good things. There is some stuff we have to clean up, but our energy and effort were there all night. We stayed tough.”
