EL DORADO, Kan. - The Independence Men’s Basketball team suffered their first loss in two weeks, at the hands of the 18th-ranked Butler Grizzlies on Wednesday night, falling 111-99 at the Power Plant in El Dorado. 

Both teams came into Wednesday’s riding great starts to the conference season, as just a half game separated the two teams at the top of the KJCCC standings. Both teams were also on slight winning streaks, as the Pirates had claimed their last four, while the Grizzlies were right behind them with three straight victories.

The Pirates got off to a great start, in what was a frantic high paced game, the Pirates were able to slow the game down a bit early as they were nursing a slight two point advantage through the first seven minutes of the game. Butler made their first run midway through the half, as a 15-7 spurt pushed the lead to six with just under 10 minutes to play. The Pirates immediately answered back with eight straight points over the stretch of the next couple minutes to retain their two point advantage. The Grizzlies remained relentless on the defensive end as a Pirate turnover and a Butler three pointer capped off another Grizzlies run and pushed their lead back to six at the final media timeout of the half. The two teams traded a flurry of baskets down the stretch of the first half as the two teams headed to the halftime locker room with the Grizzlies leading 57-50. 

The Pirates would immediately make a run to behind the second half, rattling off seven straight points and tying the game at the 18:40 mark. Butler settled back in quickly though, as they answered with 11 straight points to give them their largest lead to that point. The Pirates continued to scratch and claw as they were able to cut the lead back down to four with under 14 minutes to play, but the Grizzlies continued to answer each Pirate run with a run of their own as they pushed their lead to 14 at the halfway mark of the second half. It was a back and forth game throughout the remainder of the half, as the Grizzlies never pushed their lead out to more than 16, but the Pirates were only able to trim the deficit to as much as 10 as the Grizzlies held off the Pirates for the 12 point victory to catapult them atop the KJCCC standings. 

Despite shooting 50% from the field, the Pirates didn't have their best shooting night from the three point line as they finished 4-17 for 23.5%. Butler also dominated on the glass, turning a +12 rebounding advantage into 20 second chance points. A Butler team that flexed the depth of their roster, also got 49 bench points to help spearhead the offensive attack. 

David Wilson led the way for the Pirates, scoring 27 points, in large part to cashing in 14 of his 16 free throw attempts. Sterling Knox continued his great season with an 18 point, 11 rebound, and six assist game. Trae Lewis and Trashaun Combs-Pierce each finished in double figures as well with 15 points and 13 points respectively. 

Despite the loss, the Pirates are still right in the thick of things in the KJCCC heading into the holiday break and the new year. Now 7-5 (5-2), the Pirates will gear up to pick up where they left off when they play host to Seward County on January 3rd.