MINT HILL, NC – After getting their first win of the young season on Tuesday night against West Mecklenburg, the Patriots basketball team just could not handle a more powerful and talented Lion team.
West Charlotte is big with some 6’9″, 6’10”, 6’6″ players who can make an impact. They have good team speed, play solid defense, force turnovers, and can score from anywhere on the court. They dominated the boards and won the inside game.
Independence had a difficult time penetrating the lanes and frankly scoring points as they shot poorly from the floor the entire contest. In fact, during the third period, the Patriots scored just 4 points all from the foul line. This was a tough game to watch, and definitely the poorest performance of a Patriot basketball team in a very long time.
At one point during the first period, the Lions had a 22-4 run, and ended up the period with a 25-8 lead. They then continued their domination with a 45-23 halftime advantage. Coach Preston Davis who always has a solid game plan, and normally makes excellent game strategy adjustments during the intermission, however, this time it simply did not work on Friday night. Especially during the third period when the team could not score a basket for 8 minutes.
However, even in a blowout loss, good things do occur on the basketball court. First, Bryce Brooks played his heart out with outstanding hustle all night. He earned his badge of courage. Senior Ralph Johnson played a solid basketball game scoring 6 points and battling under the boards for the Patriots, but at 6’4″ he is Indy’s big man, and he was going up against bigger players who are strong and athletic, especially 6’9″ starter Donovon Raymond including the Lions backup 6’10” Muhammed Kone. While Tosh Alberga came off the Indy bench to provide a much-needed spark for the Patriots during the second period scoring 6 points, and Dyshawn Taylor scored two consecutive 3-point shots in the final period. Finally, Kameron Jasper off the bench contributed 7 points in the first half making a positive impact.
The Patriots next home basketball game is against Hopewell a non-conference matchup on Tuesday, December 12, at 7:30 pm. The Patriots are now 1-2 on the season.
