Moberly, Missouri -- Freshman James Jean-Marie had just enough time to gather in a missed shot and put it back in the hoop before time expired and Indian Hills stayed undefeated - just barely - with a 91-89 win against previously unbeaten State Fair (Mo.) at the Midwest Bone & Joint Center Classic on Friday afternoon.
Indian Hills squandered a 22-point first-half lead as State Fair (7-1) went on a 30-6 run just before and after halftime to eventually pull ahead.
After Caleb Coleman's two foul shots with 12:12 remaining gave the Roadrunners a 61-59 lead, the score was close the rest of the way with five ties and five lead changes.
State Fair's LaPear Toles, who was nearly unstoppable in the second half when he tallied 19 of his game-high 28 points, tied the score at 89-all. IHCC took advantage of the remaining time on the clock, working the ball to Shane Gatling for a potential game-winner. Gatling's shot was off the mark, but the miss was grabbed by Jean-Marie, whose putback try rolled in as the buzzer sounded.
Gatling had 15 points for Indian Hills. Antonio "Booman" Williams topped the Warriors with 17 and he scored 11 points in a row before Jean-Marie's game-deciding hoop.
The score was tied at 78 apiece when Williams made three free throws on two separate trips to the line, then had two more free throws and two 3-point plays over the final three minutes of action.
Jean-Marie was also clutch in helping get Indian Hills back on track after State Fair made up the 22-point deficit, connecting on two 3-point plays that both gave IHCC a lead.
The Warriors broke open a tight game with a 33-11 spurt in the opening half. Sophomore Javier Valeiras played a big part in that run, scoring all 10 of his career-best point total.
State Fair started chipping away at the margin by scoring the last five points of the first half, then continued their comeback in the first eight minutes of the second period.
Instrumental in the IHCC victory was their free throw shooting. Even though they had four fewer field goals than the Roadrunners, IHCC connected on 28-of-39 foul shots with Williams and Aurrecoechea each hitting seven.
The Warriors put their perfect 7-0 record on the line when they take on preseason No. 8 Moberly in the final game of the Greyhound's weekend classic on Saturday night.
INDIAN HILLS 91, STATE FAIR 89
INDIAN HILLS
Ivan Aurrecoechea 3 7-10 13, Jamel Allen 0 1-2 1, Antonio Williams 5 7-8 17, Tomas Woldetensae 2 0-0 6, Shane Gatling 5 3-4 15, Connor Murrell 1 1-2 4, Devontae Lane 2 3-4 7, Corey Manigault 0 0-0 0, Rob Montgomery 4 0-0 9, James Jean-Marie 3 3-6 9, Javier Valeiras 3 3-3 10 Team 28 28-39 91
STATE FAIR
Grant Gelon 3 0-0 7, LaPear Toles 9 10-11 28, Tyreek Scott-Grayson 3 0-3 7, Andre Walker 7 0-0 15, Caleb Coleman 3 2-3 8, Dru Smith 1 0-0 2, Tim Leavell 5 5-6 18, Isaac Bassey 0 1-2 1, Derrick Brock 1 0-0 3 Team 32 18-25 89
Halftime score: Indian Hills 53, State Fair 36; Three-point field goals: IHCC 7 (Woldetensae 2, Gatling 2, Murrell 1, Montgomery 1, Valeiras 1), SFCC 7 (Leveall 3, Gelon 1, Scott-Grayson 1, Brock 1, Walker 1)