The Independence Men’s Basketball team suffered its first conference home loss, falling to the 21st-ranked Dodge City Conquistadors 95-93 on Wednesday night.
The Pirates got off to the start they were looking for, as Xavier Miller buried his first shot of the night, just under the 13-minute mark to give the Pirates an early 17-12 lead.
In the second half, the Pirates were tied at 77 around the six minute mark, followed by eight unanswered points from Dodge City.
Eventually down by eight, the Pirates turned up the defensive pressure and that led to a few steals and seven straight points to cut the deficit to one. The Conquistadors were 3 for 4 from the free-throw line down the stretch, leaving the door slightly open for the Pirates, who had a chance to tie or win the game with 10 seconds remaining. Indy would put it in the hand of Knox who had led the comeback effort, he would work his way into the paint, was cut-off, and kicked it out to Kourouma at the top of the key, his last-second look rimming out as the final buzzer sounded.
The Pirates, now 7-4 in KJCCC play after back-to-back losses, will look to get back on the winning side of things this weekend as they travel to take on a red-hot Cloud County team in Concordia.
