Pirates' Monster Comeback Falls In Overtime 

February 20, 2019 

INDEPENDENCE, Kan. - Sophomore night had arrived, and the Independence Pirates honored sophomores Tyreece Berry, Marc Crawford, Ricky Edwards, Jibril Harris, Kofi Maze, Sean Pollack and Alex Torres in their last regular season home game against the Allen County Red Devils. The Pirates had a slow start trailing by twenty-four points at halftime and even though they amounted a remarkable comeback, they would drop their second straight game in overtime, 101-98. 

The Pirates had three players in double figures led by Ricky Edwards with 20 points, JIbril Harris with 19 points and Mamady Djikine with 17 points. Two players had a double-double as Harris had 10 rebounds and Djikine had 12 rebounds 

In the first half, it was a rough start game to start with the Red Devils starting out up 16-7 before a three-pointer by Jibril Harris, but a 4-1 run for Allen pushed the score to 20-11. Free throws from Perry Carroll pushed the lead to eleven and the fourteen a three by Trez Hankins, but a three from Tyler Williams made it 25-13 Allen at the 11:27 mark. 

Another bucket for Williams cut the lead to ten before a 5-4 Allen run made the score 30-19, but a layup by Mamady Djikine brought the Pirates within nine points. A three by Jamal Clifton pushed the lead to twelve before a basket by Tyus Jeffries pushed it to fourteen and two more shots by Jeffries made the score 39-21 Allen at the 6:21 mark.  

A basket for Anquaevious Pollard cut the lead to sixteen before a huge Allen County dunk, but another bucket for Pollard kept the Pirates in range. A 6-2 run for Allen County had the lead at eighteen points before a three-point play by Jeffries and a three by Carroll at the buzzer made the score 51-27 Red Devils at the break. 

The second half began with a free throw for Malik Hardmon before a pair of free throws by Tonje Durham and three-pointer from Edwards. The Pirates continued with a bucket from Williams and Edwards to cut the lead to sixteen before a run of 4-1 Pirates' run and a three from Djikine made the score 53-42 with 14:12 remaining. 

Another score for Djikine cut the lead to nine before free throws from Hardmon, but a three for Berry had the Pirates within eight points. A bucket for Carroll pushed the lead to ten before a jumper by Djikine, but a run of 7-2 for Independence made the score 59-56 with 11:24 remaining after a three from Edwards.  

Free throws for Hardmon pushed the lead to five before a three from Edwards who gave the Pirates their first lead with another shot beyond the arc at 62-61. Free throws for Darius Love gave Allen the lead before a bucket by Pollard, but a bucket from Jeffries made the score 65-64 Allen with 9;31 remaining. 

Free throws for Clifton pushed the lead to three before a game-tying three from Edwards, but a pair of shots from Jeffries regained the lead for the Red Devils. A trip to the line for Edwards brought Independence within one before two foul shots from Hardmon and two more from Jeffries.  

A three by Berry cut the lead to two before a 8-0 run for the Red Devils, but a three-point play by Durham brought the score within seven before a bucket by Hardmon. A 7-0 run for the Pirates capped by a floater for Alex Torres brought the score within four before a layup by Torres cut the lead to two, but two foul shots from each team had the score at 87-85 with 1:00 remaining. Harris went to the line making one of two to bring the Pirates within one before two foul shots from Carroll, but a three from Harris was enough to send the game to overtime tied at 89-89. 

In overtime, a bucket by Love put the Red Devils up by two before free throws from Pollard, but buckets for Love and Hardmon had Allen County leading by four. A three-pointer from Derrick Redmon brought the Pirates within one before a basket by Love and two foul shots for Carroll, but a basket for Torres made the score 99-96 with 1:00 remaining. Two free throws for each team had the Pirates within three, but Independence's attempt for another overtime was not to be and Allen County secured the victory. 

Independence (14-14, 9-10) closes out the regular season on the road Saturday February 23 against the Cowley Tigers with tipoff set for 7:30 pm.