The Independence Patriots varsity basketball teams opened Southwestern 4A Conference play on Tuesday night with a home doubleheader against the Hickory Ridge Ragin’ Bulls.

Women’s Game

Hickory Ridge 75, Independence 33

In the women’s game, the Lady Patriots faced off against the number 3 ranked girls team in the Charlotte Observer’s Sweet 16 poll.

In the first quarter, the Lady Patriots played a solid game against the Observer’s third ranked team. The Lady Bulls jumped out to a 11-2 lead, but the Lady Patriots fought back on three point shooting by Brianna McManus and Braylyn Milton. As time was running out in the first quarter, Indy was trailing by seven points 20-13.  The Lady Bulls missed a shot and Indy came down with the rebound. The Lady Patriots got the ball to mid-court and made a pass to Ayanna Anderson who hit the layup and was fouled. After hitting her foul shot, Indy had cut the to four points as time ran out with Hickory Ridge leading 20-16.

At the start of the second quarter, the Lady Bull’s picked up their defense with an aggressive full court press that bottled up Indy’s offense for the remainder of the game.  Hickory Ridge’s tenacious defense forced numerous turnovers that resulted in 18 second quarter points for the Lady Bulls, while the Lady Patriots could manage only three points in the quarter. The Lady Bulls took a 38-19 halftime lead.

In the second half the Lady Bulls kept up with their pressure defense allowing Indy to score only 14 second half points.  Hickory Ridge went on to take a 75-33 conference win over the Lady Patriots.

Brianna McManus and Braylyn Milton led the Lady Patriots with eight points each. Ayanna Anderson had 7 points. Sharonda Smith and Laura Flynn added 3 each.  Brianna Grant and Alexandria Barrino had 2 points each.

Hickory Ridge    20  18  24  13  –  75

Independence   16    3    9    5  –  33

Men’s Game

Hickory Ridge 37, Independence 79

The Independence Patriots men’s varsity basketball team opened the Southwestern 4A Conference season in dramatic fashion with a 42 point home win over visiting Hickory Ridge on Tuesday night.

Independence, the number 3 ranked team in The Charlotte Observer’s Sweet 16 poll, was led by junior Andra McKee with 35 points, shooting 14-of-17 from the floor and hitting 6-of-7 beyond the 3-point arch.  McKee also had 7 assists, 3 steals and 1 rebound.  Jamaricus  Burton added 12 points, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots. Raja Milton also finished in double figures scoring 10 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, had 5 assists and 5 steals.  Matthew Smith had 7 points, led Indy in rebounding with 10, had 2 assists and 1 blocked shot.  Jordan Mobley scored 7 points, 2 assists and 2 steals.  Amonti Burton had 4 points. Travis Burgess and Lloyd Latta had 2 points each.

Indy jumped out to a 24-12 first quarter lead and never looked back.  The Patriots increased their lead to 42-17 at the end of the first half.  By the end of the third quarter the Patriots had moved out to a 28 point lead at 60-32. The Patriots keep up their intensity in the fourth quarter to take a 79-37 victory over the visiting Hickory Ridge Ragin’ Bulls.

From the floor Indy shot 55% hitting 31-of-56 shots.  On the defensive end the Patriots held Hickory Ridge to only 5 points in the second and fourth quarters as they went on to take the conference win and improve their record to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

Hickory Ridge   12    5   15   5  –   37

Independence   24  18  18  19  –  79