INDEPENDENCE, Kan. - The Independence Men's Basketball team snapped their seven game losing streak just in time for postseason play as they knocked off Cloud County 84-78 in the final regular season game. 

The Pirates got off to a fast start on their Sophomore Night, using an early 10-0 run to jump out a 14-5 lead. Cloud County immediately answered with eight unanswered points before the Pirates rattled off another 14-5 stretch that pushed their lead out to 12 points. From here the game hung in the balance for a large majority of the rest of the night as the Pirates took a 10 point lead into the half and never surrendered their lead. 

The T-Birds cut the lead down to five or six multiple times across the second half, but the Pirates continued to execute offensively and were able to make enough stops to weather any Cloud County run. The Pirates had pushed the lead out to 14, their largest of the game, before the T-Birds finished the game on an 8-0 run to shrink the final deficit.

In what was a very physical game, both teams got to the foul line a fair share, with the Pirates hitting 23 of 30 tries, while the T-Birds only converted 20 of their 37. Indy also had advantages in shooting from the field, at 47% and from deep at 31%. The Pirates did have a slight edge in the rebound battle, while both teams were dead even at 44 points in the paint. 

In his final regular season game at The Fieldhouse, David Wilson saved his best for last, as he paced the Pirates with 37 points and seven rebounds. Giali Chapman finished in double figures as well with 11 points, while Will Lobor was a monster on the glass, pulling down 12 rebounds. 

The Pirates finish the regular season 15-15 overall, and 13-11 in KJCCC play which places them as the #7-seed in the KJCCC tournament. The Pirates will host the 10th-seeded Tigers of Fort Hays Tech Northwest, on Saturday at 2:00 pm. The Pirates swept the season series over the Tigers, winning 85-83 in Goodland back in December, and 81-70 at The Fieldhouse in February. The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the quarterfinals to take on 2nd-seeded Butler.