INDIAN HILLS VS. SOUTHEASTERN THROUGH THE YEARS

It's one of the most notable matchups each year in all of junior college basketball. Six combined national championships. 34 total national tournament appearances. 15 of the last 19 NJCAA Region XI Tournament Championships.

Separated by just 78 miles down Route 34, Indian Hills and Southeastern open up Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play Saturday night at the Hellyer Center in Ottumwa. The two nationally ranked teams tip-off at 7:00 PM, the 136^th matchup between the two schools since 1963-64.

Saturday's matchup between the two squads is the first ranked contest between the two schools since March 3, 2019 when No. 14 Southeastern upset No. 12 Indian Hills in the NJCAA Region XI Championship game.

GAME INFORMATION

GAME NOTES

• Winners of five straight games in the series, including last year's NJCAA Region XI Championship, Indian Hills enters Saturday night's contest ranked No. 8 in the nation with a 14-4 overall record. The Warriors have won six of their last seven contests, with the lone defeat coming in a three-point loss to No. 1 nationally ranked Salt Lake Community College (UT) in the Fiesta Bowl Junior College Shootout.
• The No. 17 nationally ranked Blackhawks have jumped out to a 16-2 overall record, the team's best start since a 19-2 mark in 2014-15. Southeastern has won eight of its last nine contests this season, but have not played since a 91-57 win over Elgin Community College on Dec. 11.
• The two teams rank near the top of the NJCAA leaderboards in Opponent's Field Goal Percentage. The Warriors rank fifth with a 35.3 mark while the Blackhawks rank 10^th overall at 36.6.
• The Blackhawks hold a slight edge with a 77.3 points per game average compared to the Warriors' 76.6 average.
• The Warriors have been led down the stretch by freshman Enoch Kalambay who has posted double-digit scoring performances in seven of his last eight contests while averaging 6.1 rebounds during the stretch.
• The Blackhawks have been led by a pair of sophomores – Jesiah West's 14.6 points per game and Davion Bailey's 13.3 points per game lead the team. West is also averaging a team-best 10.3 rebounds per game.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• Since the 1971-72 season, a span of 125 contests, the scoring margin between the two teams is separated by just three points, a 9,353-9,350 margin in favor of Southeastern.
• Since 1963-64, Southeastern leads the series 74-61, with the first contest occurring in the Region Tournament in 1964, a game won by then-Burlington Junior College 96-69.
• Indian Hills is 43-30 all-time as the home team in the series, outscoring Southeastern by 178 points during the home affairs.
• Since the 1989-90 season, Indian Hills leads the series 59-39.
• Indian Hills is 4-3 all-time in one-point games and 5-2 in overtime contests.

NOTABLE GAMES

• April 6, 2021 – Indian Hills 84, Southeastern 65
  • Indian Hills claimed its second consecutive NJCAA Region XI Tournament Championship with an 84-65 victory over the Blackhawks at the Hellyer Center last season. The region title was the eighth in the last 10 seasons for Indian Hills as sophomore Chris Payton led four Warriors in double-figures with a game-high 20 points.
• January 16, 2016 – Indian Hills 104, Southeastern 61
  • Indian Hills used a barrage of three-pointers, 15 in total, to rout Southeastern 104-61 in West Burlington. The win was the largest margin of victory for Indian Hills in the all-time series. Dazhonetae Bennett led the Warriors with a season-best 20 points in the win.
• March 7, 2009 – Southeastern 81, Indian Hills 80
  • With 56 combined wins entering the contest, Indian Hills and Southeastern squared off in the NJCAA Region XI Championship in Ottumwa. Indian Hills Athletics Hall of Fame member Dwight Buycks poured in a game-high 32 points, including a pair of free throws to give the Warriors an 80-79 lead with 37 seconds to play. Southeastern responded with the eventual game winner from Brian McMikle with seven seconds to go to lift the Blackhawks to the 2009 NJCAA Region XI title.
• February 26, 1998 – Indian Hills 72, Southeastern 71
  • With an undefeated record and a shot at a second consecutive national championship on the line, the Warriors survived a scare from the Blackhawks in the opening round of the State Tournament. Led by NJCAA Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Pete Mickeal's 23 points, the Warriors knocked off Southeastern 72-71 and went on to win its second of three straight NJCAA National Championships.

LEADING THE WAY

• Head coach Hank Plona is in his seventh season at the helm of the Warrior program. Plona currently ranks second all-time at Indian Hills with 184 victories, trailing only Terry Carroll who amassed 269 victories along with 211 wins later on with Southeastern. Plona has been named the ICCAC Coach of the Year three times over the last four seasons and holds a 13-3 overall record against the Blackhawks.
• Southeastern is led by head coach Lorenzo Watkins, a former student-athlete and head coach in the Indian Hills Men's Basketball program. Watkins took over for Terry Carroll as head coach in 2017 and has posted a 109-43 overall record. Watkins was named the ICCAC Coach of the Year for the 2018-19 season.

WHAT'S NEXT

• Following Saturday's matchup, the two teams will square off again on Saturday, Feb. 5 at the Loren Walker Arena in West Burlington.
• The 2021-22 NJCAA Region XI Tournament is set for Feb. 23-26 while the NJCAA North Central District Championship is scheduled for March 2. The 2022 NJCAA National Tournament is slated for March 14-19 in Hutchinson, KS.