INDEPENDENCE, Kan. - The Independence Men's Basketball team rallied from 17 points down in the second half to pick up their third KJCCC victory of the year, knocking off Pratt 81-80 on Saturday evening. 

The Pirates got off to a bit of a slow start as they were playing from behind for the majority of the night. The Beavers scored the first six points of the contest and quickly used that to make an early 10-2 run. After a back and forth half from that point on, the Pirates were able to trim the lead down to as much as three before one final spurt by the Beavers gave them a nine point lead heading into the halftime break.

In the second half, the Pirates found their shooting stroke, but not before falling behind as much as 17 points at the fourteen-minute mark. The Pirates went on to shoot 60% from the field in the second half, as down the stretch they continued to chip away at the Beaver lead. The Pirates still trailed by as much as nine points at the nine minute mark, but their comeback efforts weren't done there. An old fashioned three point play from Trashaun Combs-Pierce, followed by a steal and a pair of free throws from Xavier Miller sparked a 18-8 run that was capped off by another old fashioned three point play this time from Lonnie Bass Jr. that gave the Pirates their first lead of the night with three minutes remaining. 

A heartstopping final few minutes set up the Beavers with two free throw shots, down by two with 15 seconds left. After making the first, a miss on the second was rebounded and dunked to put the Beavers up one in the final seconds. 

Out of a Pirate timeout, they put the ball into the hands of Creighton University transfer Sterling Knox, who drove into the paint, put up a shot, was able to corral his own rebound and finish through contact just before the final horn to give the Pirates the 81-80 victory. 

The win marks the first time in the Coach Steadman era that the Pirates have won back to back KJCCC games in a season, another highlight of the growth that has taken place in three short years under Coach Steadman. 

The Pirates had a very balanced scoring attack tonight, as Sekou Kourouma led the way off the bench with 14 points. Four other Pirates finished in double figures, David Wilson with 12, Sterling Knox and Trashaun Combs-Pierce each with 11, and Lonnie Bass Jr who notched another double-double in just 19 minutes with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Knox also finished with nine rebounds and a game high five assists in the victory. 

The win moves the Pirates above .500 overall at 5-4 and 3-1 in KJCCC play. The Pirates will look to continue their hot start to conference play as they travel to take on Fort Hays Tech Northwest on Wednesday.