INDEPENDENCE, Kan. - The Independence Men’s Basketball team struggled to slow down the visiting Cowley Tigers, as they dropped their sixth straight game, 101-83 on Wednesday night. 

Cowley dominated in the paint from start to finish, as 78 of the Tigers 101 points came from in close. 

Meanwhile, on offense, the Pirates struggled to really string a run together to get them back in the game after quickly falling behind double digits in the first half. Indy finished the night shooting just 35% from the field and 31% from deep. 

After trailing by 16 at the half, the Pirates did make their best push early in the second half  as a 13-5 run cut the deficit to eight. Seven straight points from Giali Chapman capped another quick spurt for the Pirates to cut the lead down to seven with just under 10 minutes to play, but Cowley finished on a 33-19 run down the stretch to pull away for the victory. 

The Tigers finished the night shooting 64% while only attempting four three point shots, making two of them. Cowley also had slight advantages on the glass, and points off turnovers, while also getting big contributions from their bench who scored 47 points. 

For the Pirates, David Wilson led the way with 23 points, while Chapman notched a personal season high of 19. Lonnie Bass Jr. finished with another double-double, scoring 16 points and pulling down 16 rebounds. 

Indy still has two crucial games left that will determine their playoff seeding for the KJCCC tournament as they will head to Dodge City on Saturday looking to get back in the win column. Dodge City escaped Indy with a 95-93 victory back on January 14th.