Independence suffered their closest defeat since February 23, 2024 on Friday. They fell just short of the East Mecklenburg Eagles by a score of 58-55. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Patriots came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 32nd, while the Eagles are ranked 110th).
Independence lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Kaleb Jasper, who posted 11 points and five assists. Lusemo Macharia was another key player, putting up ten points and three blocks.
East Mecklenburg got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Nixon Wright out in front who dropped a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The dominant performance gave Wright a new career-high in boards. Another player making a difference was Vance Johnson, who scored 12 points.
Independence's loss dropped their record down to 17-5. As for East Mecklenburg, they pushed their record up to 14-8 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home.
Independence has already played their next game, a 71-49 win against Rocky River on the 11th. As for East Mecklenburg, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next match, a 63-57 defeat against Charlotte Catholic on the 11th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
