The Iola Mustangs have had their struggles against Prairie View in recent years. That fact is what made Tuesday night’s 42-33 win all the sweeter.
“This really raises morale,” Iola guard Isaiah Fawson said. “We always struggle with them for some reason and so it felt good to get a win.”
Fawson says it is hard to pinpoint why the Buffalos present so many challenges for the Mustangs, but it may have something to do with the type of defense they run.
“I don’t know why, but there is just something about them,” Fawson said. “Maybe it is the really tight zone that they pack in really well. We don’t see that very often.”
Prairie View beat Iola earlier this season 45-40.
“We didn’t think that they should have beaten us the first time so it was just nice to come out and beat them,” Iola forward Evan Sigg said. “This was really a game to prove ourselves.”
The Mustangs got off to a great start with a 10-0 run to start the game with seniors Ben Cooper and Fawson each hitting a three and juniors Sigg and Ethan Holloway getting baskets on the inside to get all four of Iola’s leading scorers getting into the box score quickly.
“We had been really ‘slumpy’ at the beginning of quarters so it was good to get off to a good start,” Iola coach Jay Applegate said. “I thought the kids played smarter tonight, a lot smarter.”
Another Cooper three made it 13-2, but Prairie View ended the quarter on a eight-point run to get within three points going into the second quarter.
The second quarter was a defensive battle, but Iola had the upper hand as Prairie View failed to score until the final 40 seconds of the period. The Mustangs used that defensive prowess to build a 20-12 lead at halftime.
“I’m proud of the kids on defense,” Applegate said. “I thought we worked really hard and only allowing 12 points in a half is really, really good.”
That lead bounced between eight to 10 for the majority of the third quarter until a 8-0 late in the quarter tied the game at 28-28.
As it had all night, the Mustang defense reignited the offense with Cooper grabbing a steal and taking it coast-to-coast to convert an ‘and-one’ play.
“We were kind of falling apart but then we just came together,” Sigg said.
On the following possession, Fawson secured a steal of his own and laid the ball into the basket as the buzzer sounded to extend the lead back to five points entering the fourth quarter.
“Those steals were big because they were gaining momentum and I really think we changed momentum with those and got the game rolling in our favor.,” Fawson said.
