Basketball Game Preview: Iola Mustangs vs. Osawatomie Trojans

vs

Previous Games

02/13/24 - Away	65-55 W
01/05/24 - Home	74-63 W
02/14/23 - Home	70-32 W
01/06/23 - Away	63-52 W
02/15/22 - Away	61-25 W
+ 5 more games

Iola is 9-1 against Osawatomie since January of 2020 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Iola Mustangs will head out on the road to challenge the Osawatomie Trojans at 7:30 p.m. Iola is coming into the match on a three-game losing streak.

Iola came up into this matchup off a tough 35-point defeat on Friday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Santa Fe Trail by a score of 53-51 on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, the Mustangs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 156th, while the Chargers are ranked 34th).

Meanwhile, Osawatomie strolled past West Franklin with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 67-51.

Iola better focus on containing Jasper Sallee and Tucker Fennel as the pair were huge in Osawatomie's win. Sallee dropped a double-double on 28 points and 12 boards, while Fennel went 8 of 16 on his way to 19 points in addition to five rebounds and three steals. Fennel is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last seven games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Troy Mosley, who posted seven points and five assists.

Osawatomie has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.7 points per game. As for Iola, their loss dropped their record down to 5-9.

Iola beat Osawatomie 65-55 when the teams last played back in February of 2024. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Fennel, who went 8 for 13 en route to 21 points and four steals. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Iola still be able to contain Fennel? There's only one way to find out.