The Patriots found themselves in a pressure packed situation at Winston-Salem Prep Academy Saturday night to a solid R. J. Reynolds Demons team that took the game down to the wire in the Hoop Cities Invitational.

In the final minutes of the game Indy’s AJ Mckee’s drained 7-of-8 free throws plus four points from the floor along with Jamaricus Burton’s 3-of-3 from the line and six points from the floor for a combined total of 20 fourth quarter points to give the Patriots a 71-62 victory over Winston-Salem’s R. J. Reynolds.

Jamaricus Burton led the Patriots with 27 points, 20 of which came in the second half.  Burton hit 10-of-17 from the floor and 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.  He also pulled down 12 rebounds had 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots.  AJ McKee also finished in double figures scoring 13 second half points.

AJ shot 3-of-7 from the field  and drained 7-of-8 from the line, all of which came in the fourth quarter.  AJ finished the night with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Matthew Smith added 9 points along with 6 rebounds and finished the night with 4 blocked shots.  Jordan Mobley had 9 points including two 3-pointers. He also had one rebound, one assist and one steal.  Anthony Allen scored 7 points one of which was a 3-pointer in the third quarter.  Allen also had one rebound and one assist.  Raja Milton finished the night with 6 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 steals.  Miles Pauldin had good minutes getting 5 boards, one steal and a blocked shot.

Indy led by 10 in the first half, but the Demons rallied to tie the score 28-28 with 1:36 to go in the first half.  With 45 seconds left in the half, Indy’s Raja Milton stole the ball at mid-court and after a few quick passes, Milton drove down the lane and was awarded the basket on a goaltending call to give the Patriots a 30-28 first half lead.

At the 6:24 mark of the third quarter Indy led by a score of 34-28.  Jordan Mobley was fouled on a 3-point shot.  Mobley went to the line shooting three and made all three shots putting Indy up 37-28.  With 1:28 remaining in the third quarter, Anthony Allen hit a 3-pointer from the baseline to put Indy up by eleven.  Reynolds fought back cutting the score to eight points to end the third quarter with Indy leading 51-43 going into the final stanza.In the fourth quarter Indy took an eleven point lead on a Jamarius steal and  layup and a foul shot to make the score 58-47 with 4:44 remaining in the game.

At the 3:31 mark with the Patriots leading 60-50, Coach Davis called a time out and stressed defense and taking care of the ball.

With 2:09 remaining Reynolds hit a 3-pointer to cut the score to nine 64-55 and took a time out.  With 1:54 left to play Reynolds started sending Indy to the line which turned out to be a big mistake.  The Patriots made 10-of-12 free throws in the final 1:54 to take a 71-62 victory over R.J. Reynolds.

The win gives Indy a 14-1 overall record and the Patriots are undefeated in conference play with a 5-0 record.

Independence   18  12  21  20  –  71

R. J. Reynolds  15  13  15  19  –  62