INDEPENDENCE, Kan. - The Independence Men’s Basketball team held off a furious second half charge from visiting Labette to hang on for the 96-83 win. 

The Pirates enter the season with high hopes after last season saw them increase their win total by 11 games. 

The Pirates got off to a quick start as Sterling Knox scored his first points of his Pirate career, followed by a Trae Lewis three pointer that put Indy out in front 7-2 early. The Pirates would maintain a slight lead for much of the first half before Lonnie Bass Jr and David Wilson scored back to back buckets to push the Pirates lead to nine. Indy would finish the first half strong as they took a 12 point lead into the locker room. 

In the second half, Labette would not go away as they cut the Pirate lead all the way down to two with six minutes remaining. The game would hang in the balance, as Indy nursed a three point lead with four minutes to go when freshman Diezel Davis was fouled on a three point shot in the corner. Davis would go on to convert all three shots from the line to push the lead to six. Davis was not done for the night, as after a stop on the defensive end, Knox found Davis in the corner once again as he buried his first triple of his young collegiate career giving the Pirates a nine point lead with three and a half minutes to go. Knox and fellow newcomer Will Lobor would each hit some clutch free throws down the stretch to ice the game for the Pirates and lead to the eventual 13 point victory. 

The game was far from pretty, as both teams lived at the free throw line, but the Pirates made sure to cash in going 28-34, good for 82%. Independence dominated the paint, outscoring the Cardinals from in close 50 to 26, and showed their team depth as the bench for the Pirates pitched in 30 points to Labette's nine. Despite shooting 50% from the field, the Pirates did struggle from beyond the arc. Shooting only 23%. 

Sophomore, and SIU-Edwardsville commit David Wilson led the way with 17 points that included a handful of highlight dunks. Freshman, Lonnie Bass Jr. pitched in 16 points and six rebounds in his first college action, while fellow freshman Trae Lewis added 11. Sterling Knox, in his first game action in over a year, had 13 points and a team high eight boards. Will Lobor led the charge off the bench, with 10 points and five rebounds, while fellow transfer sophomore, Xavier Miller was a force on the defensive end with a team high four steals. 

The Pirates now have over a week to regroup as the next time they take the court will be November 10th, when they travel to take on Northern Oklahoma-Enid, tip-off set for 7:00 pm.