Edwards' Explosive Second Half Leads Pirates Past Grizzlies 

February 11, 2019 

INDEPENDENCE, Kan. - After a rough home slate to the second half of the season, the Independence Pirates hosted the Butler Grizzlies for the second time on the season to try and get the energy back in the season. With a chip on their shoulder, the first half was close but an explosive second half provided the Pirates with a much-needed victory, 75-68. 

The Pirates had two players in double figures with 23 points from Ricky Edwards and 12 points from Tonje Durham. 

"I thought that we had a good locker room before the game and were locked in pretty well," coach Tony Turner said. "We came and took care of business, making shots and key rebounds down the stretch to win the game, which is what we need to do every game going forward." 

"Wednesday, we play Coffeyville and they're rolling, so we'll have to play and do all the little things like making shots and keeping them off the boards to beat them." 

In the first half, Immanuel Allen got Butler on the board first with a layup before a put back and three-pointer from Tonje Durham followed by a basket for Mamady Djikine to push the lead to five for the Pirates who kept rolling with a free throw from Durham. A three for Juwan White cut the lead to three before a layup for Djikine, but a free throw for Allen made the score 10-6 before a jumper from Tyler Williams at the 13:20 mark. 

Free throws for Mohamed Fofana cut the lead to four before a put back from Williams and a three by Kori Guest followed by a layup from Alex Torres, but a bucket for Tyrone Coley cut the lead to nine. A bucket for Sean Pollack and a three for Torres pushed the lead to fourteen before a three by Chiddy Golden, but another three for Guest had the Pirates leading 27-13 with 6:45 left in the half. 

A layup for White cut the lead to twelve before a bucket for Tyreece Berry, but a basket for Daviyon Dennis brought the Grizzlies within eleven. Another basket for Dennis cut the lead to nine before a trip to the line for Djikine, but another bucket from Dennis followed by a bucket from Durham made it 33-23 Pirates with 3:10 left in the half. 

Another bucket for Dennis brought the Grizzlies within eight before a free throw from Ricky Edwards and a pair of foul shots from White followed by Allen with two free throws making the score 34-29 Independence going to halftime. 

The second half began with a three for Kamron Brice before a three from Edwards, but another three for Brice brought the Grizzlies within two. A basket by Edwards pushed the lead to four before a basket from White, but another three from Edwards made the score 42-37 with 17:10 remaining. 

"Trusting the process along with my teammates feeding me and coaches believing in me really helped me tonight," Edwards said. "Eventually, I just finally got out of my own ways, but it's definitely a blessing to thank God for with the win tonight." 

"Wednesday, there's a lot of hype going to Coffeyville and we'll have to tighten up on defense compared to the first time we played them, because we just played very intimidated that night. We'll have to stick to our game plan, make shots, play with confidence and the rest will take care of itself." 

A free throw each for Williams and Berry pushed the lead to seven before yet another three for Edwards, but a of shot from the line for Allen brought the Grizzlies within nine. A goaltending call and a bucket from Durham pushed the lead to thirteen before two shots from the line for Allen who came back down and made it 51-43 after a huge three-pointer with 13:00 remaining. 

Edwards continued to torch the net from downtown with ease with his third three-pointer followed by a floater to push the lead back to thirteen before a bucket from Allen and technical shots by Anquaevious Pollard. A basket for Coley cut the lead to eleven before a three-point play from Kofi Maze, but a three from Allen made it 61-50 with 8:45 remaining. 

A free throw for Coley and basket from Allen cut the lead to eight before another basket from Allen, but a bucket for Edwards pushed the lead for the Pirates back to eight. A three-point play for White brought Butler within five, but Edwards continued to burn it up with his fourth three of the night making the score 65-58 with 4:34 remaining. 

Free throws for Allen made it closer before a bucket by Pollard, but Allen again scored bringing the lead back down to five and again for a seven-point advantage. A bucket and two free throws for Golden brought the Grizzlies within three before a pair of free throws by Durham, but a bucket for Allen made it 71-68 Pirates with 18 seconds remaining. Free throws for Edwards pushed the lead to five and two shots for Berry sealed the deal as Independence claimed a seven-point victory. 

Independence (14-11, 9-7) hits the road Wednesday February 13 traveling to face rival, the #3 Coffeyville Red Ravens with tip off set for 7:30 pm.