HS Boys Basketball: Independence knocks off Liberty to open the season

Patriot senior Ashton Arthur pours in 28 points to lead the way

Rivalry clashes are not commonplace in high school boys basketball to open the season.

However, Wednesday it was front and center in Coal City when Independence hosted Liberty in a Raleigh County showdown.

While the rust showed at times, in the end, the veteran play of the Patriots was just enough to knock of the Raiders, 62-55 in front of a large crowd.

Independence boys basketball head coach Shawn Jenkins talked about the win.

The visitors took charge early building an eight-point advantage that settled at 17-10 after one quarter.

The second quarter however, belonged to the home squad who rallied to lead at the break.

Brock Green hit an off-balanced jumper through contact to give Independence its first lead at 22-21 with 3:30 to play in the quarter.

Green followed the lead-changing score with a power move along the baseline on the next possession for a three-point margin.

A steal and a layup from Ashton Arthur just before the buzzer gave the Patriots a 28-23 halftime margin.

Independence appeared to carry the momentum into the third quarter when Arthur scored a quick two, but the Raiders had the answer.

When Parker Hodges ripped a 3-pointer later in the quarter, Liberty capped a 10-0 run for a 33-30 lead.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, foul trouble for sophomore standout Liam Daniels and Zay Kincaid helped put a damper on the rally.

After Arthur stemmed the tide for the Patriots, Green added an And-1 for a lead Independence never relinquished.

The Independence senior finished the night with 28 points and talked about the win over the county rival.

Leading 46-44 after three quarters, the Patriots started to pull away in the final stanza.

A triple and a runner from Arthur was sandwiched around a floater from Degan Williams to push the lead to 10 points with just over three minutes to play.

Although the visitors were down, they were not out.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Daniels and Hodges trimmed the lead back to four points with 1:30 to play.

Following a pair of missed free-throws from Independence, Liberty had a chance to move within one point, but when the 3-point attempt went wanting, so did the final chance for the Raiders.

A free-throw and a layup from Arthur sealed the opening night victory for the Patriots.

L: 17 6 27 11 - 55

I: 10 18 18 16 - 62

Liberty : Liam Daniels 16, Jaxson Workman 10, Zay Kincaid 4, Parker Hodges 11, Aden Tabor 4, Landen Lusk 3, Cole Gosnell 2, Chase Shea 5.

Independence: Brayden Hoosier 2, Ashton Arthur 28, Sylas Nelson 7, Brock Green 11, Landon Riddle 6, Degan Williams 4, Kaden Bradbury 4

3-pointers: L: 8 (Daniels, Workman 2, Hodges 3, Lusk, Shea); I: 2 (Arthur 2)

Liberty head coach Chad Williams gave his thoughts on the opening night clash.