Ottumwa -- A game-deciding 12-2 second-half run and a season-high 29 points from Chris Payton allowed Indian Hills to move into first place all alone in the ICCAC as the Warriors polished off Southeastern, 80-64, before a large Saturday-night crowd at the Hellyer Center. The win pushes IHCC to a 4-1 conference record, a half-game ahead of Southeastern and Iowa Western, both 4-2. And it allows the Warriors to avenge their only loss in their past 17 games -- a 73-69 defeat at SCC on Jan. 15.
After Southeastern hit a 3-pointer to climb to within a single point, Maurice Calloo scored on back-to-back possessions for the Warriors, on a scoop shot and a dunk, and IHCC was off and running in the decisive period of the second half. Aaris Bonds tipped in a missed shot to temporarily halt the run, but Tyon Grant-Foster connected from mid-range, Calloo made two foul shots and Malique Jacobs, who played tremendous defense in the second half, picked off a pass and raced to the other end of the floor for a slam dunk to put Indian Hills ahead, 61-50. From there, Indian Hills nailed their only two threes of the second half, one by Grant-Foster and another by Chris Childs, and never let the Blackhawks get closer than nine points.
Payton took off on an 8-0 run all by himself in the first half as Indian Hills made up an early 14-7 deficit. Bonds had eight of his team's 14 points, but a short time later he went to the bench after picking up his second personal foul. With their leading scorer on the sidelines, SCC lost their inside presence and Payton went to work. He scored inside to snap a 24-24 deadlock, followed with two free throws and then scored two more buckets to give his squad their largest lead of the game, to that point. The 6-6 freshman was 10-for-12 from the field and 9-for-12 at the foul line on the way to his 29-point night, eclipsing his previous high of 18.
in the first half, Indian Hills got their first lead on a baseline jumper by Calloo, but Bonds answered with a hook shot in the lane, those field goals accounting for two of the 11 lead changes. The score was tied seven times, the last at 45-45. Grant-Foster and Jacobs scored to give Indian Hills a 49-45 advantage. Carlos Lemus's 3-pointer made it 49-48, and immediately after that three IHCC took off on the 12-2 spurt. The 3-point basket for Lemus was one of only two all night by the Blackhawks, who drained seven 3s in the second half of the earlier matchup with IHCC, when SCC overcame a nine-point first-half deficit.
Taking advantage of Payton's offensive explosion, Indian Hills shot 54 percent from the field while holding SCC to 44 percent accuracy.
Bonds had 13 rebounds in addition to his team-high 16 points for Southeastern. But a swarming IHCC defense forced 11 second-half turnovers by the Blackhawks, who turned it over 18 times in all. Jacobs was credited with five of his team's 11 steals.
Grant-Foster supported Payton with 17 points, Calloo added 13 and Childs 10 for an IHCC team that is now 22-3. Southeastern fell to 19-6 overall.
The Warriors go outside the conference for a battle with Moberly (Mo.) on Wednesday night, then face a key league road contest at Iowa Western on Saturday.
INDIAN HILLS 80, SOUTHEASTERN 64
INDIAN HILLS
Chris Payton 10 9-12 29, Maurice Calloo 5 2-2 13, Tyrese Nickelson 0 0-0 0, Loseni Kamara 2 0-1 5, Chris Childs 4 0-0 10, Malique Jacobs 3 0-0 6, Tyon Grant-Foster 4 8-8 17, Drake Jeffries 0 0-0 0, Ben Lyon 0 0-0 0, Samba Kane 0 0-0 0 Team 28 19-23 80
SOUTHEASTERN
Aaris Bonds 7 2-2 16, Boubacar Kamissoko 1 0-0 2, Elias Ezenekwe 6 5-8 17, Carlos Lemus 4 2-2 11, Miganeh Abdi 0 0-0 0, Camryn Weston 1 2-3 4, Diew Moses 2 2-3 6, Dadrian Hoambrecker 1 1-2 3, Gavin Kies 1 0-0 3, Kany Rey 1 0-0 2 Team 24 14-20 64
Halftime score: Indian Hills 36, Southeastern 33; Three-point field goals: IHCC 5 (Childs 2, Calloo 1, Kamara 1, Grant-Foster 1), SCC 2 (Lemus, 1, Kies 1)