OTTUMWA, IA – No. 6-rated Indian Hills began its postseason quest for a NJCAA National Championship Saturday in the semifinals of the Region XI Tournament with a 94-61 win over Northeast at the Hellyer Center.
The 33-point win wasn't perfect, but as IHCC Head Coach Hank Plona reminds his players, it didn't have to be.
"If we're going to expect to be perfect, then we're going to fail," Plona said. "I've said it a lot this year. There's a lot of very good coaches, and there's a lot of very good players, and if we struggle, the opponent had something to do with that."
Northeast came into the contest at just 3-19 and had been thumped twice by the Warriors during the regular season (115-63 on Feb. 6 & 108-86 on Feb. 27). The Hawks clearly came out from the opening tip intent on being physical with the smaller Warriors, and after six minutes of play, it was working.
Plona called timeout with 14:08 on the clock in the first half with Northeast holding a 12-11 lead.
"There's always going to be at least five to eight minutes in a basketball game when it doesn't go perfectly," Plona added. "It's more about how you respond, and I thought we did."
The Warriors came out of the timeout trailing, but it would be the last time Northeast would hold an advantage on the scoreboard as IHCC went on a 12-0 run to go up 29-15 with eight minutes left until intermission.
Indian Hills would go on to enjoy a 10-point margin at the break, and while Plona wasn't pleased by the Warriors play to close the half, the second stanza was exactly what the sixth-year IHCC coach was looking for.
"The end of the first half wasn't particularly great, but I thought in the second half we played a lot better," Plona said. "We played with a lot more confidence, and hopefully figured some things out."
Leading scorer Tyem Freeman led the turnaround in the second half as the Warrior standout came out of the lockers intent on improving on his five-point effort in the first 20 minutes. Seven straight points out of the Springfield, Missouri native put IHCC up 50-33 and Freeman was back to trusting his instincts that have made him one of the nation's best in his freshman season.
"Tye was trying to be almost perfect, and like I said earlier, if you're trying to be perfect, you're going to fail," Plona reiterated. "If he's just trying to be the best version of Tye Freeman he can be, he's going to be one of the absolute best players in the country. I thought he showed that in the second half."
Freeman would go on to net 12 points after half to lead the Warriors with 19 for the game, which is right at his season average (18.6 ppg).
One player who scored well above his season average was sophomore Theo Bourgeois. The French sharp shooter notched a career high 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Bourgeois' previous high was 10 points last season, also against Northeast.
"I thought Theo played with a lot of confidence," Plona said. "He's good enough to make those shots, and he proved it tonight. Hopefully this is a game that Theo can build off of. We try to get guys to play with a clear mind, and to be confident in every decision they make and then trust the results. I thought he did that very well."
Preseason all-American Chris Payton took another step towards becoming a postseason honoree as he notched his 12th double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Payton is saving his best for last as the Bloomington, Illinois product has collected double figures in points and rebounds in the last six IHCC contests.
"Chris played with a passion and fire tonight," Plona said. "This time of year we could go all the way, or we might lose in the end, those are the two options. But I think if we know we gave it everything we have, we're a pretty good basketball team, and the result a lot of times is going to be in our favor."
The second half saw three 7-0 runs and an 11-0 burst as the Warriors outscored the Hawks 51-28 to blow things open, ending Northeast's 2021 season at 3-20 overall. A Bourgeois triple followed by four straight from Braxton Bayless at the charity stripe handed the Warriors their largest lead of 33 points as the final buzzer sounded, signaling another trip to the Region XI finals.
In addition to Freeman, Payton and Bourgeois' efforts, IHCC got 15 points from Curtis Jones and 11 from Bayless. Tyrese Nickelson added eight points while Levar Williams added six and Trey Harris three.
"Curtis played another really complete game," Plona added. "I thought Braxton Bayless and Trey Harris were outstanding on defense. Levar stepped up and made some big shots and the last four to five games he's continued to be a better defensive player, so all in all a very good team effort, especially the second half, and we're looking forward to Tuesday."
Rival Southeastern fought back from a halftime deficit in the other Region XI semifinal against Marshalltown to down the Tigers, 68-61. That means the Blackhawks will travel west on Highway 34 to match up with the Warriors in yet another regional final Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Hellyer Center.
"Obviously with Southeastern, you always know what you're going to get," Plona concluded. "I'm sure they're going to come in here very hungry, and I think we're excited about the game."
Region XI Semifinals
Indian Hills 94, Northeast 61
1st 2nd TOTAL
Northeast 33 28 61
Indian Hills 43 51 94