DODGE CITY, Kan. - The Indendence Men's Basketball team rallied from an early double-digit defecit, but ultimately fell short, falling to Dodge City 81-76, Wednesday night.
The Pirates got off to a slow start in their final road game of the regular season, at the seven minute mark they were already looking at a double-digit defeict as they trailed 20-4. Indy slowly but surely, turned up the defense and chipped away the rest of the first half and trimmed the defecit all the way down to two before fouling a three point shot right before the half time buzzer. Dodge City would make all three attempts and take a five point lead into the half at 39-34.
The second half was a back and forth battle, as Indy kept hanging around and staying within striking distance. A pair of David Wilson free throws at the eight minute mark, gave Indy the lead at 59-57, their first since a 2-0 lead in the first minute of the game. After the two teams swapped multiple trips to the free throw line, the Pirates found themselves down by three with six minutes remaining. Indy would score on their next three possessions and flip the score from a three point defecit to a three point lead with four minutes to go. The next five points would all belong to Dodge City, while a pair of free throws from Chris Dockery ended that run and had the game all sqaure at 71 with two and a half minutes to play. Keshawn Brown knocked down a jumper to give the lead back to Dodge City before a pair free throw misses from Indy led to a three point make, and a five point lead for the Conquistidors, a lead the Pirates wouldn't be able to cut back into, resulting in the 81-76 defeat.
Independence shot 41% from the field compared to 34% for Dodge City. Neither team shot the deep ball particularly well, as Indy was just 2 for 15, while Dodge was 4 for 22. The two teams combined to shoot 86 free throws, Indy made 65% of their 37 attempts, while Dodge made 67% of their 49 attempts. The two teams were evenly matched on the glass, Dodge City finishing with the slight 43-40 edge. The Conquistidors had 20 points off of turnovers, while the Pirates had 30 bench points.
Chris Dockery led the charge for Indy, as he had team highs in points, rebounds and assists, with 20, nine and five, respectively. Trashaun Combs-Pierce was the only other starter in double figures with 14, while both Tyler Parks and David Wilson pitched in 11 points off of the bench. Combs-Pierce and Tyland Holdman each pulled down eight rebounds, while each making their mark on the defensive end, Combs-Pierce with four blocks, and Holdman with four steals. Holdman also dished out three assists on the night.
An unfortunate result on a night the Pirates truly competed from start to finish. Indy will now return home for their final two regular season games, beginning this Saturday as they host #16th-ranked Barton CC at 4:00 p.m. CST, a rematch from an OT thriller back in January that Indy won 112-111.