Tigers too much for Mustangs

FORT SCOTT — Mama said there’d be days like this.
Iola High’s Mustangs found the road rough Friday night, as host Fort Scott took control with a dominant second quarter.
The Tigers outscored Iola 20-3 in the period, turning a 12-5 lead into a 32-8 halftime advantage.
Iola’s bench players gave the Mustangs a bit of a spark after halftime, but Iola could get no closer than 20 points in the second half as Fort Scott rolled to a 49-26 win.
The loss drops Iola to 7-6 on the season. The Mustangs resume Pioneer League play Tuesday on the road at Wellsville.
The loss stuck in Mustang coach Bill Peeper’s craw, but not as much as what he described as Iola’s lack of effort and intensity.
“I’m just disappointed,” Peeper said. “The guys want to be good, but sometimes we don’t understand what it takes to be successful.”
Iola’s lack of leadership Friday played a factor in the Mustangs’ style of play, Peeper said: “We had guys struggle to step up.”
Both teams were stuck in neutral in the early going. Neither team scored in the first 3 minutes until Fort Scott’s Alex Fink connected at the 4:50 mark of the first quarter. The basket triggered a 7-0 Tiger run, which ended with a basket by Iola’s Kaden Macha.
Levi Ashmore drained a 3-pointer in the final minute of the period, cutting Fort Scott’s advantage to 9-5.
But that’s as close as Iola could get.
Tiger freshman Kaleb DeLaTorre countered Ashmore’s trey with one of his own to end the quarter and trigger a 23-3 run that extended through the second quarter.
In one exasperating sequence, Fort Scott converted three consecutive steals into six straight points in a little more than a minute.
Iola started the second half on the right foot. Ashmore drained a pair of free throws, and Adam Kauth scored inside to close Fort Scott’s lead to 32-12. The Tigers, meanwhile, were scoreless for almost 3 minutes until Jash Pytlowany scored off a steal.
The basket was the first of a 9-0 Fort Scott run that extended the Tigers’ margin to 41-12 by the 3:58 mark of the period.
At that point, Peeper substituted liberally from his bench.
The strategy worked, to an extent.
Macha scored in the third quarter, and Eli Grover connected on two straight field goals in the fourth quarter.
But it was too little, too late.
Macha led the Mustangs with six points, followed by Ashmore with five. Mason Coons had five rebounds, followed by Tyler McIntosh with three. Bryan Mueller and Ashmore each had three steals. Adam Kauth and Trent Latta each dished out two assists. Tyler Powelson, who was hampered by foul trouble from the opening moments, had two blocks. McIntosh also had a block.
“Our bench played its heart out,” Peeper said. “Kaden Macha did some nice things, and Eli Grover gave it his all. You never have to question his effort. Adam Kauth did a good job attacking at times.”
But a consistent effort is necessary to proceed from Friday’s loss, Peeper said.
“Tonight’s (effort) wasn’t a recipe for success,” Peeper said.
Johnathan Stark’s 15 points paced the Tigers. Mason Knopp added nine.
The game had a festive flavor all night. Adam LaRoche, a first baseman for the Washington Nationals and a Fort Scott graduate, had his baseball jersey retired at halftime.
The game also was part of Fort Scott’s winter homecoming festivities, and it was announced that FSHS girls coach Jeff Amrstrong had won his 100th career game that night.
Special recognition also was given to the late Ernest Hawkins, a Fort Scott graduate who organized a basketball league in 1921, into the Kansas State High School Activities Hall of Fame.
Fort Scott’s junior varsity also won 61-31. Fryendz Wallace and Jesse Zimmerman each had eight points for the Mustang JV.
In C team action, Fort Scott won 48-33.
Colby Works scored 11 for Iola.
Iola (5-3-8-10—26)
Fort Scott (12-20-13-4—49)
Iola (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Latta 0-1-3-1, Ashmore 0/1-2-0-5, Coons 0-0-2-0, Wallace 0-2-2-2, Morrison 0-0-2-0, McIntosh 1-0-1-2, Macha 3-0-3-6, Adam Kauth 1-2-1-4, Powelson 1-0-4-2, Grover 2-0-0-4. TOTALS: 8/1-7-18-26.
Fort Scott (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): DeLaTorre 0/2-0-2-6, Woodring 0-0-2-0, Sather 0-2-2-2, Brown 0-1-0-1, Pytlowany 2-0-0-4, Bradbury 0-2-0-2, Fink 1-0-2-2, Stark 3/1-6-2-15, Knopp 2/1-2-0-9, Labbe 0-0-1-0, Davenport 0-2-2-2, Olin 2-2-2-6. TOTALS: 10/4-17-16-49.