Ottumwa, IA – For the 14th time in program history, the Indian Hills Men's Basketball team clinched a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) District Championship as the Warriors rolled to a 115-99 victory over Dawson Community College (MT) on Saturday night at the Hellyer Center.
The win gives the Warriors an automatic berth to the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball National Tournament for the 17th time, tied for seventh most all-time in NJCAA history. After missing the tournament in 2021, and not participating in 2020 despite earning a berth due to the cancellation of the tournament from COVID-19, the Warriors will be making its first true appearance at the historic national tournament in Hutchinson, KS for the first time since 2019.
One year removed from falling to Dawson in the 2021 NJCAA North Central District Championship in Glendive, MT, the Warriors welcomed the Bucs to the Hellyer Center for a shot at a District title. In a game that saw both teams shot over 50 percent from the floor and better than 40 percent from three-point range, the Warriors led from start to finish to walk away with the emphatic victory and the opportunity to cut down the nets in front of its home crowd.
Sophomore Taj Anderson (Queens, NY/Quality Education) who was held scoreless with two turnovers against Dawson in last year's title game, erupted for 30 points on Saturday night, one off from a career-high. Anderson finished the night 10-18 from the floor and 8-15 from three-point range while adding five rebounds in the win.
The Warriors placed six players total in double-figures as J'Vonne Hadley (St. Paul, MN/Northeastern) added 18 points on 8-9 shooting. Enoch Kalamabay (Gatineau, Canada/Orangeville Prep) came off the bench to score 17. Ahren Freeman (Jacksonville, FL/New Orleans) added 15 while Braxton Bayless (Ankeny, IA/Ankeny) and Davin Zeigler (Cleveland, OH/Bowling Green) scored 13 and 12, respectively.
The Warriors led from the get-go after jumping out to a strong start. As a team, Indian Hills shot 67.6 percent from the floor in the first half and led by as many 25. Anderson scored 18 points in the opening half as Indian Hills built a 61-39 lead at the break.
Anderson added 12 more in the second half as the Warriors' strong shooting night continued. The Warriors held the nation's top three-point shooting team to just 38 percent in the second half to seal the win and earn a trip to the national tournament.
The Warriors will now wait to see their tournament pairing on Sunday night with the NJCAA Selection Show set for 5:30 PM. Indian Hills is guaranteed a game in one of the two opening rounds at the national tournament, either Monday, March 14 or Tuesday, March 15.
HUTCH BOUND! There will no keeping @ihccbasketball out of the tournament this year as the Warriors (27-5) left no doubt tonight as IHCC defeated @DCCBucsBball 115-99. The Warriors will find out the date/seed/opponent tomorrow (Sunday) at 5:30 pm. #WeAreHills #WarriorNation pic.twitter.com/NtP7hO3NPV
— IHCC Athletics (@IHCCAthletics) March 6, 2022
