Independence and Butler are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2019, but not for long. The Independence Patriots will head out on the road to face off against the Butler Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the pair will really light up the scoreboard.
Independence scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Tuesday. They blew past Rocky River 87-62. Independence has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matches by 20 points or more this season.
Jaxson Neely had a dynamite game for Independence, dropping a double-double on 22 points and 15 rebounds. It was the first time this season that Neely scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kolbe Johnson, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten rebounds.
Independence's lineup was just a bit different on Tuesday as Cameron Holmes got a bit more time on the court (nine vs. his season average of 4.58). Holmes made the most of the opportunity, scoring five points. A few more games like that and he might be seeing even more time going forward.
Meanwhile, Butler entered their tilt with Cuthbertson with five consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with six. Butler walked away with a 66-54 victory over Cuthbertson on Tuesday. That's two games straight that Butler has won by exactly 12 points.
Independence pushed their record up to 18-5 with that victory, which was their eighth straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.9 points per game. As for Butler, they are on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 matches, which provided a massive bump to their 16-7 record this season.
Independence beat Butler 52-41 when the teams last played back in January. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Butler's Tyler Showalter, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Independence still be able to contain Showalter? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
