COLBY, Kan. - The Independence Men’s Basketball got off to a strong start to KJCCC play, as they rode a hot shooting night to a 102-87 road victory over Colby on Wednesday night. 

The Pirates got off to the fast start to the game they were looking for as they were able to push their first half lead all the way to 15 at one point a bit later in the first half. Colby was able to close the half with a 19-9 run to cut the Pirate lead to just five at the half. The first ten minutes of the second half belonged to Colby as well as they were able to flip their five point deficit into a five point lead, which would be their largest lead of any point in the contest. The Pirates would immediately answer with 10 straight points of their own to flip the five point lead back into their favor. From there the Pirates would continue to pull away and increase the lead as freshman guard Trae Lewis buried two of his seven three pointers down the stretch to help push the Pirate lead to double digits and the eventual 15 point victory to match their largest lead from earlier in the first half. 

Lewis and his seven three pointers led the way as he finished with 31 points in his first game back since leaving the first half of the NOC-Enid game back on November 10th. David Wilson had another efficient offensive night as he scored 22 points on 7 for 10 from the field. Sekou Kourouma had double digits off of the bench with 14, while Lonnie Bass Jr fell one rebound shy of another double double with 10 points and a team high nine boards. Sterling Knox did a little bit of everything as he finished with eight points, six rebounds and a season high nine assists. 

The Pirates, now 3-3 overall and a crucial 1-0 in KJCCC play now shifts their focus to one of the nations elite, the 3rd-ranked Coffeyville Red Ravens for another road test on Saturday.