Dodge City men's basketball earned its 19th win of the season with an 87-77 victory at home over Independence. 

The victory moves the Conquistadors to 19-10 on the season and 15-8 in KJCCC play. The win is the 68th at Dodge City for Head Coach Brad Witherspoon, moving him into the Top 10 of career wins at Dodge City. The victory, along with a Cowley loss to Seward County on Saturday, assures the Conqs a top-four finish in the KJCCC and a first-round bye in the Region 6 tournament with a quarterfinal game at home. 

After the initial bucket of the ballgame, the Conqs saw Independence go on an 8-0 run and work to an 11-4 lead. The Conqs then fell behind 16-8 but pushed back and, with a three-pointer from Brad Johnson, took the lead at 21-20 with 9:07 left in the first half. Tied at 22-22 with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half, the Conqs took control of the game, going on a 14-0 run to hold the largest lead of the game at 36-22. Ultimately, the Conqs outscored Independence 21-7 over the final eight minutes of the first half to lead 43-29 at intermission. 

The Conqs' double-digit lead at halftime would hold up throughout the second half despite Independence trying to make runs at cutting into the deficit. Conqs had an answer every time Independence made an advance in the second half as the Conqs secured the 87-77 victory. 

Conqs had another strong shooting day with a 52.6% day from the floor, dishing out 19 assists on 30 made field goals. Defensively, the Conqs held Independence to the lowest shooting percentage by an opponent this season as they shot just 30.5%. 

Derrick Rivers had a historic day for the Conqs, finishing with 25 points to give him over 1,000 career points as he became only the fourth player in school history for men's basketball to surpass 1,000 career points. He also hit five free throws to help him break the school record for single-season made free throws. 

Four other Conqs tallied double figures on the day, with 15 points by Andrew Mabry, while Wesly Rosa added a 14-point day with nine rebounds and four blocks. Brad Johnson chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds, while Rickey Loftin II posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, adding five assists. 

The Conqs will wrap the regular season on Wednesday, March 4th, when they take on Seward County as they look to close out the regular season strong and solidify their spot in the KJCCC.