The Independence High School Patriots men’s basketball team defeated the Butler Bulldogs in a key conference rivalry game at the Dawg Pound this past Tuesday night.

It was a hard fought game which the lead changed several times during the night.  However, in the end the Patriots prevailed as they rode the back of Jamarius Burton who decided to take charge in the 4th period of the contest.

The senior scored 23 points on the night to lead all scorers and dominated the 4th period scoring three important baskets and hitting his foul shots to keep the bulldogs from trying to mount a comeback.  He also blocked a shot to stymie his opponent to start a fast break contributing to the victory down the stretch.

At the end of the first half Indy held a 35-29 advantage after having just a one point lead in the first period.  Andra Mckee hit a big three point shot with 1:05 seconds remaining in the period giving the Patriots a 3 point spread, however, DJ Little was fouled shooting a 3 pointer with 24 seconds on the scoreboard clock sinking 2 of 3 free throws to get the Bulldogs to within one.

Indy continued to remain on top in the third period as both teams exchanged baskets with the Patriots scoring 16 points and 15 for the Bulldogs.  Jamarius Burton continued his consistent performance hitting some nice 10 foot shots, while Andra Mckee and Matt Smith made key contributions.  Raja Milton hit an important 3 point shot and made some nifty baseline drives to the basket.

In the fourth and final period Burton took control on the court showing his senior leadership, Smith became more aggressive under the boards, while Miles Pauldin played solid defense to compliment Smith for a few minutes giving Jordan Mobley a breather.

With Mobley returning back into the game he quickly connected on a 3 point shot with 1:59 remaining on the clock.  Then DJ Little landed a 3 pointer for the Bulldogs with 1:43 in regulation.  With the score 68-62 in favor of the Patriots DJ Little hit a 3 pointer to make the game 68-65 with under 30 seconds remaining.  The Patriots hit 2 free throws and the Bulldogs could not score with Smith and Burton dominating the boards in the final seconds.  The sixth ranked Patriots statewide and 97th nationally are now 20-1 overall and 11-0 in the Southwestern 4A Conference.

Lady Bulldogs defeat Lady Patriots 61-36

The Lady Patriots were in the game for the first half trailing 22-16.  However, in the second half of the contest they had a difficult time scoring especially in the fourth period when Butler opened up their advantage taking away any momentum or comeback ideas Independence might have had in mind.

Butler completely dominated the boards and took control of the ballgame in the last 8 minutes after entering the period with a 39-29 lead.  They outscored the visitors 22-7 while shutting down the Lady Patriots offensively.

Sharonda Smith scored 15 points for Indy and Braylan Milton 13 points with 6 rebounds.  Bulldogs Renee Kennedy had 19 points, Michela Lane 14, Destiny Lewis 12 for the victors.