INDEPENDENCE, Kan. - The Independence Men’s Basketball team suffered their first conference home loss in heartbreaking fashion, as they fell to the 21st-ranked Dodge City Conquistadors 95-93 on Wednesday night.
The Pirates got off to the start they were looking for, as Xavier Miller buried his first shot of the night, just under the 13-minute mark to give the Pirates an early 17-12 lead. Dodge City answered back with a 16-5 run, with half of the 16 points coming in the form of eight straight from Jayvion Nurse to culminate the run. The Pirates did tie the game up at 29 at the seven minute mark before Dodge City finished the half, outscoring the Pirates 22-12, to take a 51-41 lead into the halftime locker room.
Heading into the second half, the Pirates found themselves in foul trouble after sending Dodge City to the free throw line 22 times in the first half. Sterling Knox scored the first six points of the second half, where he would eventually have 23 of his 28 points. With Knox continuing to steer the ship, the Pirates took their first lead of the second half after a Sekou Kourouma three point shot at the 11 minute mark.
With the game knotted at 69, a huge momentum swing for the Conquistadors came at the nine minute mark, as Pirate guard Trae Lewis was called for a common foul, followed by a technical foul which would disqualify Lewis due to five personal fouls, and granted the Conquistadors four free throws.
The Pirates tied the game once again at 77 around the six minute mark, followed by eight unanswered points from Dodge City, to give them a lead they would not squander down the stretch.
Down by eight, the Pirates turned up the defensive pressure and that led to a few steals and seven straight points to cut the deficit to one. The Conquistadors were 3 for 4 from the free throw line down the stretch leaving the door slightly open for the Pirates who had a chance to tie or win the game with 10 seconds remaining. Indy would put it in the hand of Knox who had led the comeback effort, he would work his way into the paint, was cut-off, and kicked it out to Kourouma at the top of the key, his last second look rimming out as the final buzzer sounded.
Both teams shot the ball very well on the night, as Dodge City had the slight edge from the field 50% to 48%. The Pirates were effective from deep, knocking down 11 of 25 three point attempts, but the Conquistadors were able to get to the free throw line 44 times compared to 21 trips for the Pirates.
Sterling Knox stuffed the stat sheet with 28 points, seven rebounds, and 10 assists, his first double digit assist game of the year. Kourouma and David Wilson each had 13 points apiece, while Lonne Bass Jr and Trae Lewis finished with 12 and 11 points respectively.
The Pirates, now 7-4 in KJCCC play after back to back losses, will look to get back on the winning side of things this weekend as they travel to take on a red hot Cloud County team in Concordia, Kansas.