Pirates Fall To Labette In Home-Opener
November 6, 2018
INDEPENDENCE, Kan. - The stage was set at ICC Field House as the Independence Pirates faced off with the Labette Cardinals in their home opener. The Pirates played with lots of intensity most of the game and led by as much as 11 points, but turnovers late in the game saw Independence fall in the end, 83-82.
"We just didn't guard very well in the second half," coach Tony Turner said. "We gave up 50 second half points and weren't able to execute down the stretch and played too casual."
"In order to get back in things this season, our guys have to grow up and start being coachable, because it's impossible to have a good season just going through the motions."
In the first half, the Pirates drew first blood with a jumper from Jibril Harris. Labette missed a scoring opportunity on a shot clock violation, but Independence was unable to score as the Cardinals got a lay in and a free throw from Toraze Dobbs to go up 3-2. Labette defended well, and Dobbs made it 5-2 with 17:20 remaining in the half.
The teams turned the ball over several times, but a free throw from Tonje Durham cut the score to 5-3 with 14:35. Labette scored on a layup from Keondre Kennedy but layups from Sean Pollack and Tyreece Berry tied the game at 7-7 at the 13:29 mark.
The Cardinals got a jumper from Jan Van Selst but Anquaevious Pollard answered for the Pirates to tie at 9-9 with 12:29 left in the half. The teams both continued to turn the ball over, but with10:55 Derrick Redmon was fouled on a layup and converted the and-one for a 12-9 lead.
Redmon stole the ball and layed it in for a 14-9 lead, but Labette answered back with a score from Xavier Ughutevbe. Redmon again made a jumper for the 16-11 lead for the Pirates and a turnover led to a floater at the other end by Alex Torres for a 18-11 lead at the 8:29 mark.
Independence attacked the rim with a layup from Harris for a 20-11 lead and the Cardinals got free throws from Van Selst and a layup by Dobbs to cut the lead to five followed by free throws from Ghage Kenan to cut it to 20-17.
Turnovers continued to be a factor for the Pirates as free throws from Labette cut the lead down to one but a quick pass to Pollack converted and the lead was 22-19 at the 6:00 mark. Independence put up another basket from Harris and a foul on the other end got free throws from Darell Purdie at the 5:07 mark to push the lead to 26-19.
A free throw from Van Selst and a three pointer from Ughutevbe cut the score to 26-23 as Labette was on a 4-0 run and two free throws cut the Independence lead to one, but free throws from Torres pushed the score to 28-25 at the 3:15 mark.
Two more free throws made it a five-point Pirate lead, but the exchange of free throws continued cutting the score to 30-28 after a three-point foul. Durham would run down and bust a wide open three and a quick steal and score by Torres made the score 35-28. Free throws were answered with a three pointer from George Price, but a quick layup form Pollack had Independence leading 39-31 with 37 seconds remaining I the half. An even run of 2-2 ended the half with the Pirates leading 41-33.
In the second half, the Cardinals went on a 5-0 run after a three pointer from Dobbs and a steal and score by Larenz Nero cut the Independence lead to one with 18:51 remaining but a quick shot by Durham made the score 43-40 for the Pirates.
Mamady Djikine for Independence answered with a layup after a pair of free throws from Labette making the score 45-42, but the free throw fest continued making it a one-point game again until a huge three pointer from Ricky Edwards made it 48-44 with 15:45 remaining.
The Cardinals answered back with a three-pointer from Dobbs to cut the Pirates' lead to 48-47, but a layup from Harris pushed the lead back to three. Free throws and a tap in by Harris pushed the lead to seven and with a mid-range jumper from Pollard and another lay in from Harris the Pirates led 58-47.
The Cardinals ended a 10-0 run with a shot by Dobbs, but Redmon responded with a quick bucket before a 5-0 run by Labette had the lead down to six. At the 9:45 mark, Labette was on a 3-1 run after a long shot by Kennedy cut the lead to 61-57 and a free throw cut the lead to three just before a three-pointer by Edwards made the score 64-58.
The Cardinals went on a 4-0 run, but another long shot from Edwards had the lead out to five. Pollack responded on the other end after a three-pointer pushing the score to 69-65, but Labette cut the lead to one with a three from Kennedy.
The threes continued to drop as Edwards continued to shine pushing the lead to 72-68, but a 4-0 run after a layup from Price tied the game with 4:30 left at 72-72. Edwards and Price exchanged threes to keep the game tied at 75-75 with 3:46 remaining and a layup from Ughutevbe gave the Cardinals a two-point lead at the 2:45 mark.
The Pirates tied the game with a dunk from Pollack but a three from Kennedy pushed the lead to 80-77, before a mid-range jumper from Pollack cut the lead down to one with 1:15 remaining. A free throw from Nero put Labette up by two, but a free throw from Pollack made it a one-point game with 20 seconds remaining.
Two free throws from Kennedy made it a three-point lead for the Cardinals, but a layup by Torres had the score at 83-82 with 6 seconds left. Labette missed both free throws on the other end after a foul, but the Pirates missed a three-pointer at the buzzer and dropped the contest.
Independence (0-3) returns to ICC Field House Thursday November 8th, to take on the Louisiana Christian Prep Disciples with tipoff set for 7 pm.