It'll be Battle of the Birds when the Independence Eagles duke it out with the Cane Ridge Ravens at 7:30 p.m. on Friday... Both were dealt some close losses in their previous games and are determined not to let this one get away.
Independence is headed into the match having just suffered their closest defeat since November 18, 2023 on Saturday. They fell just short of The Webb School by a score of 50-48.
Meanwhile, Cane Ridge fought the good fight in their overtime contest against Goodpasture Christian on Saturday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Cougars by a score of 85-83. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Friday (80), the Ravens still had to take the loss.
Independence will need focus on slowing down Jaiden Pugh, one of several Cane Ridge players who made an impact when they last played. He went 10 of 17 on his way to 22 points in addition to seven boards and four blocks. The dominant performance gave Pugh a new career-high in blocks. The team also got some help courtesy of Avyion McCleton, who went 7 for 14 on his way to 18 points in addition to eight assists and four steals.
Even though they lost, Cane Ridge smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in three consecutive games.
Independence has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-6 record this season. As for Cane Ridge, they dropped their record down to 5-3 with the loss, which was their third straight on the road.
Independence took their win against Cane Ridge when the teams last played back in December of 2023 by a conclusive 75-54. The rematch might be a little tougher for Independence since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
