Independence Patriots fall to Bulldogs at home 54-52. The Patriots lost a tough basketball game on their home court on Tuesday night. They defeated the Bulldogs at the Dawg Pound by 22 points in January. The Patriots played their normal fast paced style with physical presence and dominance under the board in the win. However, this game played out very differently.
The Bulldogs led the entire game until the final few minutes in the 4th period. They came out and played with intensity and were very physical. It honestly was the only chance the Bulldogs had to defeat the more talented and deeper bench of the Patriots. They cannot run with Independence who will destroy their opponent in the transition game. Also, the Bulldogs landed key 3 point shots throughout the contest to keep the Patriots at bay. They forced the Patriots to play a slow down game and pulled off a 54-52 victory.
With 1:37 on the clock Indy’s Anthony Allen swished a 3 pointer to put the home team up 51-48. Now with only 38 seconds remaining Butler countered with another big three pointer by Chris Peters who hit 3 of 4 in the game from the three point range to tie the game. After both teams landed free throws to make the score 52-52 with under 15 seconds remaining, the Bulldogs would nail a two point jump shot with 3.2 seconds to complete the upset. The Patriots had an opportunity to tie with two shots at the basket that did not fall to force the game into overtime.
The Pats are now 17-5 overall, and 11-1 in the highly competitive Southwestern 4A Conference leading the pack.
Queens Grant Stallions
The Stallions won two of three during the week as they enter their final week of the campaign. On Tuesday night at home they defeated rival Union Academy 57-45 on the fine shooting of senior guard Jah’Quez Sanders who scored 22 points to lead the home team to victory.
On Thursday night the Stallions pulled off a huge win 48-47 against Pine Lake Prep in Matthews. Senior guard Darnell Craig had a big night scoring 17 points while getting support from junior LB Boyette with 13 and Sanders added 10 points. The Stallions had a dominating third period outscoring their opponent 16-7 which made the difference in this basketball game.
Friday night the Stallions faced possibly the best team in the PAC 7 Conference Davidson who took it to the home team 54-42 by winning the second half outscoring the Stallions 32-19 which made the difference in the contest. Jah’ Quez Sanders led with 13 points and Ahmad McKnight added 10 for the home team.
The Stallions are now 17-7 overall, and 9-3 in the PAC 7 Conference with two more games to be played before they begin the conference tournament. Davidson is 19-3 overall, and 11-1 in the PAC 7.
Rocky River Ravens
The Ravens won two important conference games this week one on the road and the other at home. All big game wins for fifth place in the Southwestern 4A Conference. These wins basically solidifies the Ravens ultimate finish during this seasons campaign. They defeated Porter Ridge away 68-67 with a huge second half outscoring the Pirates 39-20.
In the home game they blitzed through East Mecklenburg with a 64-59 come from behind victory. The Ravens pounded the Eagles in the fourth period outscoring them 23-12 to put the finishing touches on a nice conference win.
The Ravens are now 11-10 on the season overall, and 4-8 in their Conference. They play rival Independence on Tuesday at home.
