Mustangs start off strong, fade late

GARNETT — Iola High’s boys started 2016 on a high note, at least for a while.
The Mustangs were active on defense, smart on offense, and had host Anderson County on its heels late in the second quarter.
Evan Sigg’s bucket late in the period gave Iola a 20-14 lead, its biggest of the game.
But in a flash, that advantage was gone, thanks in large part to the Bulldogs’ withering press.
Anderson County scored eight straight points to set up a back-and-forth affair. The Bulldogs then used its press to take full advantage after halftime, with a 13-1 run.
The spurt turned a tie game into what eventually would become a 53-43 victory.
The loss drops the Mustangs to 1-6 on the season.
“We’re the type of team that we’re not going to out-physical anybody,” Mustang head coach Jay Applegate said. “We have to play the best we can play to have a chance to win, and we did that in the first half. We did not do that in the second half. We just didn’t come out with any fire in the second half.”
The loss soured what was a promising start.
Five Iola players scored in the opening quarter. Brett Taylor’s basket in the waning seconds gave Iola an 11-9 lead.
Ben Cooper, Ethan Holloway and Sigg then took turns giving Iola’s offense a boost in the second period. Cooper drained a 3-pointer and another short jumper to push Iola’s lead to 18-14. Sigg scored moments later for the six-point lead.
Holloway stepped up late in the half with a pair of buckets, and Sigg’s free throw pushed Iola’s lead to a 25-24 at the break.
The teams traded leads twice early in the third quarter. Taylor’s baseline drive knotted the score at 32-32 at the 5-minute mark.
The rest of the quarter was all Anderson County.
John Rundle scored nine of his game-high 17 points in the period, including a 3-pointer that pushed Anderson County on top, 45-33.
Chase Regehr scored inside, and Sigg added a free throw moments later to cut the deficit back into single digits, 45-36, but it was too little, too late.
“We did things we shouldn’t do,” Applegate said. “We put our head down and dribble and right into (their press). They do a good job, but we helped them out a lot.”
Still, there is reason to hope, Applegate noted.
Both Holloway and Sigg showed improvement on the court, he said.
“Ethan made good decisions,” Applegate said. “Sigg played better.”
Now, it’s time to take the next step, he continued.
“Every game we’ve got is tough,” he said. “We have a hard time with that basketball mentality at times, and that’s my fault.”
 Sigg’s 11 points lead a balanced Mustang attack. Holloway finished with 8, while Cooper and Regehr scored 7 apiece.
Derrick Nelson added 10 for the Bulldogs.
Iola’s junior varsity squad won, 53-39, while the C team emerged victorious, 48-46. Individual statistics were unavailable.
Iola hosts Osawatomie Friday.
Iola (11-14-8-10—43) (FG/3pt): Zimmerman 0-1-1-1, Cooper 2/1-0-3-7, Fawson 1-1-3-3, Plumlee 0-0-1-0, Regehr 2-3-1-7, Taylor 3-0-1-6, Holloway 4-0-3-8, Sigg 4-3-2-11. TOTALS: 16/1-8-12-43.
Anderson Co. (9-15-18-11—53) (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Fredricks 0-3-2-3, Ahring 1-0-1-2, Johnston 0-2-1-2, Ratliff 1/1-0-2-5, Ja. Rundle 2-0-0-4, Levy 3-1-4-7, Jo. Rundle 7/1-0-3-17, Nelson 5-0-3-10. TOTALS: 19/3-6-16-53.