Ottumwa -- Indian Hills' streak of five straight wins in the Region XI postseason tournament title game came to an end Saturday night, buried under a barrage of three-point baskets by visiting Southeastern CC. The Blackhawks had by far their best long-distance shooting night of the year, making 14-of-18 3-pointers and blitzing the Warriors, 95-74.
Southeastern got their first three with the game only 22 seconds old and proceeded to hit eight more shots from behind the arc in the opening half. In both halves, Indian Hills' attempts to get back into the game were thwarted by SCC 3-point shots.
The Blackhawks ran away to a 14-0 lead in the game's first 4 1/2 minutes. The Warriors finally got on the scoreboard on Torrey Patton's 3-point play with 15:35 on the clock. Patton scored on the next possession, too, but Trenton Massner, who led SCC with a game-high 18 points, shot Southeastern back into a double-digit lead which they maintained most of the remainder of the game.
The Warriors got as close as seven points late in the opening period by scoring eight straight points. Tyon Grant-Foster drained a three, Tyler Chisom hit two foul shots and Grant-Foster added a three-point play, making his free throw after he was fouled on a slam dunk, to make it 41-34. But the Blackhawks regained control by halftime when Massner drilled a three and Jaquan Lightfoot converted a 3-point play to end the half.
The closest the Warriors got in the final half was nine points. It was 58-49 after four straight free throws -- two each by Nick Wagner and Lance Singh. SCC's Tyler Maye stepped up and hit consecutive buckets, around a Wagner goal, and Southeastern maintained the double-digit advantage until the final buzzer.
Iziah James led Indian Hills with 17 points and Patton was the only other double-figure scorer with 14.
The victory allowed SCC to take the season series from the Warriors, who had won 12 games in a row against Southeastern before a one-point loss at West Burlington late in the regular season.
The Warriors still have hopes of getting an at-large berth in the NJCAA national tournament, based on their 26-6 season record, No. 12 national ranking and their strength of schedule. The tourney bids will be revealed on Mar. 11.
SOUTHEASTERN 95, INDIAN HILLS 74
INDIAN HILLS (26-6)
Devontae Lane 0 3-4 3, Lance Singh 2 2-2 6, Billy Thomas 0 0-0 0, Iziah James 4 6-7 17, Nick Wagner 2 3-4 8, Tyon Grant-Foster 3 1-1 9, Josh Nicholas 3 0-2 7, Tajim Smith 0 0-0 0, JD Muila 1 0-2 2, Anthony Bratton 1 1-3 3, Tyler Chisom 1 3-7 5, Torrey Patton 5 4-6 14 Team 22 23-35 95
SOUTHEASTERN (27-4)
AJ Cox 3 1-2 9, Tyler Maye 5 1-1 13, Jaquan Lightfoot 4 5-10 13, Trenton Massner 7 0-0 18, Marquis Collins 2 2-2 8, Steven Cager 3 0-1 8, Kelvon Fuller 8 0-0 16, DeAndre Barton 3 0-0 8, Jerry Myles Jr. 1 0-0 2, Diew Moses 0 0-1 0 Team 36 9-17 95
Halftime score: Southeastern 47, Indian Hills 34; Three-point field goals: IHCC 7 (James 3, Grant-Foster 2, Wagner 1, Nicholas 1), SCC 14 (Massner 4, Cox 2, Maye 2, Collins 2, Cager 2, Barton 2)