On Friday night the Independence Patriots played host to the Pirates from Porter Ridge in Southwestern 4A conference basketball games.
Women’s Game
Porter Ridge 33, Independence 63
After defeating the Lady Pirates in December, the Lady Patriots wasted no time on Friday by jumping out to a 10-0 lead. Then the Lady Patriots went on a 9-0 run to make the score 19-4 at the end of the first quarter.
With 51 seconds left in the half, Indy’s Ayanna Anderson rolled her ankle and had to be helped off the court and did not return to the game.
The Lady Patriots started the second period by making one of two shots from the free throw line. Indy’s Alex Barrino grabbed a rebound and scored making the score 21-5. After Barrino’s basket, Porter Ridge scored two quick baskets before Indy went on an 8-0 run on three baskets by Mariah Washington and a Laura Flynn jumper to give the Lady Patriots a 20-point lead.
At the 3:01 mark, the Indy bench was whistled for a technical foul. Porter Ridge made both of the free throws and scored a field goal to make the score 30-15. But a jumper from the foul line by Trinity Thompson and Gracie Breckenridge scoring from the charity stripe gave the Lady Patriots a 33-15 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Indy’s Braylyn Milton had to sit due to four personal fouls.  But the Lady Pirates got a healthy dose of Trinity Thompson. After Gracie Breckenridge nailed two free throws, Trinity Thompson scored on an old fashioned 3-point play. Thompson went on to score six more points in the final three minutes to make the score 44-20 at the end of the third quarter.
Trinity Thompson started the final period with a drive down the middle of the lane and by hitting a 3-point baseline jumper to give Indy a 50-22 lead.
Upon Braylyn Milton’s return to the game, she nailed a 3-pointer and then scored 3 points from the charity stripe to make the score 56-28. Braylyn went on the score Indy’s last 6 points as the Lady Patriots took the conference win 63-33.
Braylyn Milton led the Patriots with 20 points. She had 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Trinity Thompson poured in 18 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and had 6 assists. Laura Flynn added 7 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and had 1 steal. Mariah Washington had 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists. Ayanna Anderson scored 5 points, had 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Gracie Breckenridge posted a double-double. She added 5 points, pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds and had 10 blocked shots. Alex Barrino scored 2 points, had 3 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. Azuria Barrino didn’t score but she had 10 rebounds and 1 steal. Kalyn Perry didn’t score but she had 1 rebound and 1 steal.
Porter Ridge    4 11  5  13 – 33
Independence 19 14 11 19 – 63
Men’s Game
Porter Ridge 65, Independence 83
The last time these two teams met was on December 19, 2019 at Porter Ridge. It was a fast pace hard fought game that the Pirates led for the first three quarter. The Pirates led by as many as 13 points with 2:44 left to play in the third quarters. But after an injury time out, Indy went on a 12-0 run and took its first lead 51-50 with 7:47 left to play in the game. As the game came to an end, the Patriots walked away with a 78-71 win.
So when Friday night’s game got underway, it was another fast-paced hard-fought basketball game.  The Pirates scored first on a top of the key 3-pointer. After an Indy field goal, the Pirates scored on a layup to take a 5-2 lead.
Anthony Allen cut the score to one on a 12-foot jumper only to have Porter Ridge to answer with a basket of its own. At the 6:09 mark, Divine Allah scored in the lane cutting the score to one 7-6.
Again after a Porter Ridge basket, Omarion Bodrick cut the Pirates lead to one. Then at the 4:30 mark, Nygell Verdier scored to give Indy its first lead at 10-9.
After the Patriots taking their first lead, Nygell Verdier scored from the charity stripe and Tachai Miller drove down the floor and pulled up at the foul line for a jumper to give Indy a 14-9 lead.
Porter Ridge fought back and re-took the lead 15-14 with 1:56 left in the quarter. After Anthony Allen made a free throw, the Pirates turned the ball over and Anthony Allen scored. On the next Porter Ridge possession, they committed another turnover. Indy’s Reggie Smith came up with the loose ball and made the pass to Allen for the basket giving Indy a 19-15 lead.
Porter Ridge scored the next four points. With nine seconds left in the quarter Jalen Hinton drained a 3-pointer to give Indy a 22-21 first quarter lead.
Porter Ridge started the second quarter by scoring five unanswered points. But at the 6:30 mark, Porter Ridge fouled Jalen Hinton on a 3-point shot. Jalen made two of his three free throws, and with 6:00 showing on the clock, Divine Allah tied the score on a layup.
Nygell Verdier hit a free throw followed by an Omarion Bodrick dunk. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Jalen Hinton gave Indy a 9-point lead at 39-30. Porter Ridge cut the lead to four 39-35 until Nygell Verdier hit a jumper with 48 seconds left in the half to give Indy a halftime lead 41-35.
The third quarter started with a Porter Ridge field goal. Then Indy went of a 15-0 run to make the score 58-39 with 2:22 left in the quarter. Indy moved out to a 63-48 lead when Landon King drained a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded.
In the final period Porter Ridge scored four quick points and cut Indy’s lead to ten 67-57 with 4:20 left in the game.
On Indy’s next possession Nygell Verdier grabbed a rebound and went the length of the floor to score. At the 3:37 mark, Nygell scored to make the margin 71-59 in Indy’s favor.
After a Porter Ridge basket, Anthony Allen drained a 3-pointer followed by a Nygell Verdier basket and two free throws by Tachai Miller giving Indy a 76-62 lead.
With 2:03 left in the game, Jalen Hinton scored on a turnover and after Anthony Allen hit a free throw, Coach Davis cleared his bench.
With 48 seconds left Porter Ridge scored on a 3-pointer to make the score 81-65.
With 46 seconds left to play, Indy’s Landon King received a hard foul sending him to the line shooting two. King made both to make the final score 83-65.
Nygell Verdier led the Patriots with 25 points. He had 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot. Anthony Allen poured in 15 points. He had 3 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals. Jalen Hinton added 15 points, pulled down 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. Omarion Bodrick scored 10 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, had 1 assist and 4 blocked shots. Tachai Miller added 9 points and 3 rebounds. He had 7 assists and 10 steals. Landon King had 5 points and Divine Allah scored 4 points and had 1 rebound.
Porter Ridge   21 14 13 17 – 65
Independence 22 19 22 20 – 83
