The Independence Patriots and the Butler Bulldogs will face off at 7:30 p.m. on Friday without much rest, having both just played. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Butler will be up against a hot Independence team: the squad just extended their winning streak to three. Independence came within five points of losing the streak, but they secured a 60-55 W against Providence. Given the Patriots' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 32nd, while the Panthers are ranked 264th), the result on Thursday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Nick Barnes
| 02/20/25 vs Providence | 15 |
| 02/14/25 vs Butler | 1 |
| 02/11/25 @ Rocky River | 10 |
| 02/07/25 @ East Mecklenburg | 7 |
| 01/31/25 @ Garinger | 12 |
| + 20 more games |
Independence's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Nick Barnes, who went 5-for-8 to rack up 15 points and three steals. That's the most points Barnes has posted since back in February of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Lusemo Macharia, who almost dropped a double-double with nine points and ten boards.
Charlotte Catholic typically has all the answers at home, but on Thursday Butler proved too difficult a challenge. They managed a 65-61 win over the Cougars. The score was all tied up 26-26 at the break, but the Bulldogs were the better team in the second half.
Independence's victory was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 20-5. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.8 points over those games. As for Butler, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 15-11.
Independence didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Butler when the teams last played on Friday, but they still walked away with a 48-44 victory. Will Independence repeat their success, or does Butler have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
