The Iola Middle School Mustangs ended the regular season with a pair of wins while splitting Thursday’s finale with the Wellsville Eagles.
The eighth-grade Mustangs won 27-15; the seventh-grade Mustangs fell 30-25 and the combined junior varsity seventh and eighth-grade team won 24-21.
The eighth-graders will host Saturday’s Pioneer League Tournament Saturday as the second seed. They head into their final team games with a full head of steam, after a dominating 27-15 victory over the Eagles, holding them to single digits in each quarter.
Iola started strong with four field goals from Milo Franklin, who ended the night with a team-leading 10 points. Jaxen Mueller carried the momentum from there with all six of his points coming in the second quarter on close-range shots. Cade Curry scored his five points on a field goal and a 3-pointer in the third quarter, which all but sealed the victory as Coach Chris Weide opted for his bench for much of the fourth quarter.
With the win, the Mustangs improved their record to 10-2 and host No. 3 seed Prairie View 9 a.m. Saturday. If they advance, they face either Wellsville or Burlington in the 12:45 p.m. championship game.
The seventh-grade Mustangs will head to Wellsville this weekend for the Pioneer League Tournament. They play in the 10:15 a.m. opener against Burlington. If Iola advances, they play either Prairie View or Wellsville in the 12:45 p.m. championship game. If they lose, they play in the 11:30 a.m. third-place game.
Against Wellsville Thursday, the Mustangs struggled to maintain their consistency as the Eagles pulled away late. Landon Desmarteau had a team-leading 15 points, followed by Greyson Skahan with seven.
In the opener, Iola edged the Wellsville Eagles 24-21 thanks in part to a 16 point explosion from Chance Conley. Conley did most of his damage with a trio of field goals in the first quarter. He stayed hot with a pair of shots in the second and fourth quarters to keep Iola ahead in their final appearance of 2026.
Evan Boeken also got into the action with field goals in the first and third quarter while scores by Kamdon Barnett and Daegan Rodriguez kept Wellsville at bay in the fourth quarter.
