Pony rally falls short in eighth-grade game

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Sports

January 14, 2011 - 12:00 AM

CHANUTE — Iola Middle School’s Pony boys had only nine points in the first three quarters Thursday night. They had a lot of ground to make up.
Outscoring host Royster Middle School’s Rockets 18-6 in the fourth quarter got the Ponies close. But it wasn’t enough to overcome a 33-9 deficit.
Iola lost the eighth-grade A-team game 39-27.
“Until the fourth quarter, we just weren’t aggressive on offense,” said Marty Taylor, IMS head basketball coach. “In the fourth, we took the ball to the basket and got to the (free-throw) line.”
Taylor said the Ponies got within eight points with a couple of minutes left but had dug way too big of a hole.
Kaden Macha led Iola with seven points and nine rebounds. Drew Faulhaber had seven points and four rebounds.
Alex Bauer controlled seven rebounds and tossed in five points. Isaiah Grover had six rebounds and four points. Shane Walden scored two points and had four rebounds.
Chanute’s Royster won the eighth-grade B-team game 31-15. Iola got nine points from Matt Jacobs. Adam Peterson had three points while Kalob Mock and Travis Hermstein each had two points.
In the seventh-grade A-team game, Iola trailed Royster 24-4 at halftime. The Rockets won the game 42-17.
“Our effort in the first half was just unacceptable,” Taylor said. “We came out and played better in the second half but we just aren’t good enough to come out not ready to play.”
Colby Works fired in eight points and had three rebounds for Iola. Brett Taylor had five points and two rebounds.
Brice Aiello had seven rebounds and scored four points. Keanan Badders grabbed seven rebounds.
Royster won the seventh-grade B-team game 19-8. Scoring two points each for Iola were Trevor Cox, Shane Armstrong, Gus Hopkins and Isiah Shaughnessy.
Iola’s teams travel to Columbus Monday.
The postponed home games from Monday with Independence have been rescheduled for Jan. 24.

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