Basketball Recap: Independence Comes Up Short

Independence lost against Centennial back in December of 2022 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Independence Falcons had to suffer through a 75-47 loss at the hands of the Centennial Golden Hawks.

Despite the loss, Independence still got an impressive performance from Xavier O'Neal, who went 7 for 13 on his way to 20 points and three steals.

Leading Centennial to victory were Acen Zuniga and Michael Gutierrez. Zuniga went 8 of 10 on his way to 19 points in addition to seven rebounds and four steals, while Gutierrez almost dropped a double-double on 16 points and nine assists. Those nine assists gave Gutierrez a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Derek Jimenez, who went 6 of 12 on his way to 15 points and three steals.

Independence suffered their first road loss, dropping their record down to 10-4. As for Centennial, the victory was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 11-4.

Independence wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, a 76-57 defeat against Roosevelt on the 4th. As for Centennial, they will face off against Sanger at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Centennial's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last five matchups.