RICHMOND Outsized and outmatched, the Iola Mustangs put up a fight in their 61-41 loss to Metro Academy.
Even head coach Luke Byrcoft, who is one to critique, had nothing but positives to say about his teams performance in the championship game of the Central Heights tournament.
They are a very experienced team, and have older players, Bycroft said of their opponent. I thought our boys played hard. We were at a size disadvantage at every position. And it wasnt where we could have the athletic advantage because they were both long and quick.
Based out of Kansas City, the Mavericks are solely comprised of homeschooled students. Players range up to the age of 19, and some of last years listed seniors were still eligible to play.
Nonetheless, Iola found a way to compete through four quarters. Cal Leonard kept the Mustangs within reach in the first quarter. Leonard provided seven points in the period, as Iola trailed 9-11 after the first.
To be honest, I thought we ran our sets on offense pretty well, and got some good shots out of it, Bycroft said. We didnt shoot a very high percentage, but a lot of that had to do with them being physical and long which makes finishing shots very tough.
Leonard brought things even with an assist to Dillon Bycfoft, but the Chargers outpaced the Mustangs 15-10 in the second quarter. Iola trailed 26-19 heading into halftime.
Metro Academy grew its lead to 14, but the Mustangs battled back. A fadeaway jumper from Bradyn Cole, and five straight points from Leonard shortened the deficit to seven. The Mavericks punched back to gain a two-digit lead heading into the fourth.
Calvin Delich scored the first basket for Iola in the fourth quarter after five Maverick points to make the score 33-48. The closest Iola got in the fourth was after another 3-pointer from Leonard which shortened the deficit to 39-50. The Mavericks responded with an 11-2 run after Leonards trey, finishing off Iola 61-41.
The score is indicative of how we played, Bycroft said. We could have sat back in our zone with the lead at 10 points, and let them milk the clock and lose the game by 10 instead of 20. But that is not who we are, or who we want to be. We tried to get in a press a little, and it hurt because we havent worked on it that much. But we had to try something to spark us, because losing by 10 is not good enough.
The Mustangs have two games before they trade basketballs for television remotes with Christmas break soon approaching. Iola travels to Burlington on Tuesday, and Prairie View on Thursday to round up 2019.
BOX SCORE
Iola (9-10-12-10 41) (pts): Bycroft 6, Leonard 17, Cole 4, Carson 12, Delich 2.
