PURCHASE YOUR DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP GEAR TODAY!
Glendive, MT – For the 20th time in program history, the Indian Hills Men's Basketball team is headed to Hutchinson, KS for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Basketball National Championship. The No. 3 ranked Warriors defeated No. 22 Dawson Community College (MT) 70-66 to secure the NJCAA North Central District title.
With the win, the Warriors locked up one of 16 automatic bids to the upcoming NJCAA DI Men's Basketball National Championship. With the win over Dawson, Indian Hills has now captured 18 NJCAA District Championships in program history, including back-to-back titles.
Indian Hills will now await its seed in the upcoming tournament with a live selection show via the NJCAA Network, slated for 7:00 PM CST Sunday, March 16. The Warriors will enter the national tournament with a 27-5 overall record, having won six in a row and 15 of their last 16 contests.
The Warriors knocked off Dawson Saturday night to hand the Bucs just their fourth loss of the season. Indian Hills was led by sophomore Kayden Nation (Peoria, IL/Western Nebraska) who dropped a game-high 15 points on the night, just two shy of a season-high. Nation knocked down three three-point shots while shooting 50.0 percent from the floor in the win.
Freshman Vladyslav Semerych (Horishni Plavni, Ukraine/Cherkassy) added 13 points off the bench for the Warriors, including 10 points in the opening half alone.
Sophomore guard Trenton Walters (Frisco, TX/Radford) collected his first double-double of the season, tallying 13 points to go along with a season-high 10 rebounds.
Indian Hills dominated the glass on Saturday night to aid in the victory. The Warriors used a 45-31 rebounding edge, including 12 offensive boards to secure the win. Sophomore Amonte Allen-Johnson (Flint, MI/Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) corralled a season-high eight rebounds while freshman Mason Costello (Waukee, IA/Waukee) pulled down six boards off the bench for the Warriors. Allen-Johnson and Costello both added three assists in the victory.
Saturday's affair saw a back-and-forth battle ensue through the early stages. Dawson built a lead by as many as five in the opening half, but a series of buckets from Semerych sparked the offense to its first lead, 19-18 midway through the half. A late three from Nation helped propel the Warriors to a 30-27 halftime advantage.
The two sides traded leads to open the second half before a three from Costello and a lay-in from Nation gave the Warriors a 49-44 lead. The Bucs stayed within contention and eventually took a 60-59 lead, but the Warriors found success at the free throw line to regain the lead. Indian Hills knocked down seven of its final eight free throws to pull back ahead. In the closing seconds, Walters corralled a loose ball under the basket to force a Dawson turnover and clinch the District title for the Warriors.
Indian Hills will head to the national tournament having made back-to-back final four appearances. The Warriors are 31-20 all-time at the national tournament.
With the Warriors travelling back from Montana throughout the day Sunday, there will be no watch party. Instead, GoHillsTV will host a live press conference, open to the public, Tuesday, March 18 at 5:00 PM at the Hellyer Center to discuss the Warriors' upcoming postseason information.
HOW TO WATCH
As always, GoHillsTV provides free live broadcasts of Indian Hills men's basketball games, both home and on the road. Fans can tune in a number of ways all season long:
- Facebook: visit www.facebook.com/gohillstv
- GoHillsTV App: Download the GoHillsTV app on your android or ios device
- Website: https://www.gohillstv.com/browse to catch all live and archived information
- Roku Streaming Device (new): Have a Roku TV or streaming stick? Download the GoHillsTV app to start streaming today!
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