After a string of six wins, the Independence Patriots's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They fell just short of Butler by a score of 54-52. Independence was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as Butler apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played last Friday.
Independence's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Yancey Thomason, who scored 14 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaxson Neely, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds.
Even though they lost, Independence smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Butler only pulled down five offensive rebounds.
It was another big night for Tyler Showalter, who scored 23 points along with six rebounds and two steals for Butler. Showalter is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last nine games he's played. Eli Grier was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with three steals.
Independence's loss ended an eight-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 20-6. As for Butler, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 19-8 record this season.
Independence will be playing at home against Cox Mill at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Independence has insisted on making their lastthree contests complete nail-biters, turning in a record of 2-1 during that stretch of close contests. Butler's road trip will continue as they head out to face Hickory Ridge at 7:30 p.m. on February 27th. Hickory Ridge is on a four-game streak of home wins, Butler a four-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the court.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
