Pirates Win-Streak Ends Against #19 Seward County
January 9, 2019
INDEPENDENCE, Kan. - Riding a four-game win streak, the Independence Pirates played their first home game of 2019 hosting the #19 Seward County Saints. The night was filled with tons of scoring with opportunities galore, but a late scoring drought saw the Pirates' four-game win streak snapped, 77-64.
Independence had two players in double-figures with 14 points from Anquaevious Pollard and 13 points from Tyreece Berry.
"We just didn't match their intensity or guard the ball very well," coach Tony Turner said. "We kept our head up, but we just couldn't get over the hump. We now have to get back to the drawing board and prepare for the next opponent."
"Saturday, we travel to Colby and they'll be another tough opponent, but if we can handle their press and hit some shots then we'll be alright."
In the first half, the Saints broke on to the board with a layup by Reggie Miller, but a quick score in transition by Jibril Harris followed by a breakaway layup from Tonje Durham had the Pirates leading 4-2 at the 18:25 mark. Anquaevious Pollard responded with a layup after a Seward free throw for a three-point lead and a floater from Tyreece Berry pushed the score to 8-3 for Independence.
A three-pointer by Marco Morency got the Saints with in three, but a bank shot by Mamady Djikine pushed the lead back to five before a Seward layup. A score from Sean Pollack pushed the lead out again just before a three from Miller and a Morency three put Seward on top for the first time at 14-12.
A layup by Djikine tied the game at 14-14, but a put back from Montrevion Flowers gave Seward a two-point advantage before a dunk from Djikine followed by a free throw gave Independence another lead at the 10:50 mark.
A layup by Kevin Charles matched a Seward three-pointer to tie it at 19-19 and free throws by Kofi Maze gave the Pirates a two-point advantage. A three-pointer by Berry pushed the lead to five and then seven after a layup from the sophomore, but a run of 11-0 brought Seward back to lead it at 30-26 at the 4:00 mark.
A foul sent Harris to the line where he made one of the two shots followed by one from Berry just before a three-pointer Julian Santamaria pushed the lead to five for Seward. A layup by Mohamed Selmi made the score 35-28, but a 4-1 run after a three-point play from Pollard brought the Pirates back within three. A three from Berry answered a three from Flowers to make it a four-point advantage, but a put back from Selmi had the Saints up 41-35 at the break.
The second half began with a three-pointer from Flowers, but a layup by Pollard kept the Pirates within reach before a bucket by Yarden Willis. Another three by Flowers pushed the lead out to 12 points and a pair of free throws had the score at 51-37 with 16:53 remaining.
A 7-4 run had Seward up by 17 points, but free throws by Pollack and a put back from Tyler Williams made it 58-45. After a foul two free throws from Williams had the lead down to 11 points and a layup by Tonje Durham made the score 58-49 before a three-pointer by Devin Bethely.
A goaltending call made it a 10-point game and a finger roll from Djiikine made the score 61-53 with 10:25 remaining before a bucket from Isiah Small. A bank shot from Pollard brought the Pirates within eight and a breakaway by Durham made it even closer at 63-57.
A layup from Miller pushed the lead back to eight and free throws by Morency made it a 10-point advantage. A floater from Flowers had the lead at 12 points and Morency delivered a put back making the score 71-57 with 5:15 remaining. The game ended on a 7-6 run for the Pirates, but the lead was too much to cover and the Pirates fell for the first time since December 1.
Independence (10-6, 5-2) returns to action Saturday December 12 traveling to play the Colby Trojans with tipoff set for 5 pm.