INDIAN HILLS NJCAA NATIONAL TOURNAMENT APPAREL
Ottumwa, IA – For the 19th time in program history, the Indian Hills Men's Basketball team punched its ticket to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Basketball National Tournament after winning the 2024 NJCAA North Central District Championship Saturday night. The Warriors defeated No. 20 North Dakota State College of Science 90-74 at the Hellyer Center.
The Warriors claimed their 17th all-time NJCAA District Championship after running past the Wildcats with a dominant showing on the hardwood Saturday night, the team's 11th consecutive victory heading into the national tournament. The Warriors advance to the national tournament for the third consecutive year and ninth time in the last 10 seasons.
Indian Hills will learn its national tournament seed and opponent Sunday night via the NJCAA Selection Show via the NJCAA Network at 6:00 PM Sunday night. Warrior fans are invited to join head coach Josh Sash and the team at the Hellyer Center as the team awaits its seed in Hutchinson, KS.
The Warriors were led by sophomore guard TJ Morris (Queens, NY/Northeastern Oklahoma A&M) on Saturday with 19 points, including a perfect 7-7 at the free throw line. Morris was joined in double-figures by Chris Mpaka (Kinsasha, Congo/Frank Phillips) who posted 14 points and six rebounds to go along with four blocks. Braden Sparks (Villa Rica, GA/Mercer) tacked on 11 points while Davontae Hall (Chicago, IL/Hyde Park) and Trevion LaBeaux (Waterloo, IA/Ames) added 10 apiece.
LaBeaux made his return to the hardwood Saturday night after missing the previous three contests due to an injury. The sophomore sparked the team on both ends of the court and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for the Warriors.
Indian Hills handed the Wildcats just their second defeat of the season as the No. 20 nationally ranked program fell to 31-2 on the year. The 90 points scored by the Warriors were the most allowed by NDSCS, a team that ranked third in the nation with 62.5 points per game allowed. Indian Hills connected on 49.2 percent of its shots, including 50.0 percent (9-18) from three-point range. As a team, the Warriors went 23-27 at the charity stripe, the team's third consecutive game shooting at least 84 percent from the line while making at least 16 free throws.
The Warriors controlled the opening tip on Saturday night and never looked back. Playing in front of its home crowd for the sixth consecutive contest, the Warriors never trailed in the opening half and built its lead to double-digits late in the first frame as Morris tallied 11 points through the first 20 minutes of action.
The Wildcats clawed back to within eight on multiple occasions throughout the early goings of the second half, but it was all Indian Hills down the stretch as the home team carried out its 11th consecutive win. The Warriors shot 53.8 percent from the floor in the second half alone and went 16-18 from the stripe over the final 20 minutes.
Sparks facilitated the Warrior offense with a game-high six assists while grabbing a season-high seven boards for the Warriors.
One of the most historic programs in junior college basketball, the Warriors will make the trek to Hutchinson, KS as one of 16 automatic qualifiers with the District title. The 24-team field gets underway Sunday, March 24 from the Hutchinson Sports Arena, a court where the Warriors have captured three national championships and 29 victories all-time.
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