Ottumwa, IA – No. 6 Indian Hills Men's Basketball ran away from Southeastern Community College on Saturday night to win the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XI Men's Basketball Championship, the ninth title in the last 11 seasons. The Warriors topped the Blackhawks 85-72 at the Hellyer Center.
The victory gives the Warriors the region title and a spot in the upcoming NJCAA North Central District Championship on Saturday, March 5, a game the Warriors will host at 7:00 PM. The opponent will be determined Monday night between the winner of Region XIII's Dawson Community College (MT) and North Dakota State College of Science. The winner will receive an automatic berth to the upcoming NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, KS, set for March 14-19.
The Warriors posted six players in double-figures on Saturday to power past Southeastern. Sophomore Ahren Freeman (Jacksonville, FL/New Orleans), making his first start since the team's last meeting with Southeastern at the Hellyer Center on Jan. 8, poured in a career-high 18 points on 7-11 shooting. Freshman Enoch Kalambay (Gatineau, Canada/Orangeville Prep) came off the bench to score 17 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Davin Zeigler (Cleveland, OH/Bowling Green) added 13 points off the benc and Braxton Bayless (Ankeny, IA/Ankeny) accounted for 11 points. Taj Anderson (Queens, NY/Quality Education) and J'Vonne Hadley (St. Paul, MN/Northeastern) each added 10 points.
Saturday's game at the Hellyer Center served as the rubber match between the two long-time conference foes as each side claimed a road victory during the regular season. Both teams completed the regular season with a 3-1 Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) record to share the regular season title.
Southeastern struck first with a quick 6-2 lead less than a minute into play, but the Warriors battled back as Kalamaby buried a pair of three-point shots to tie the game at 12 with 15:14 to play. The first half saw five different lead changes and seven ties as Indian Hills held the largest lead in the opening frame, a 23-16 edge at the 12:35 mark. Southeastern took a 32-30 lead the 3:26, but the Warriors held the Blackhawks scoreless the rest of the way to regain a 36-34 halftime lead.
The Warriors sparked the packed Hellyer Center to open the second half with a 9-0 run. A three from Freeman put Indian Hills ahead 45-34 just 2:25 into the second half. The Warriors continue to pour it on the visitors and extended their lead to as many as 18 with under six minutes to play in the game. An emphatic dunk from Andre Harris (Cleveland, OH/Wright State) capped the night as the Warriors earned their 12th consecutive victory and upped their overall record to 26-5 on the year.
After shooting just 38.7 in the first half, the Warriors finished the night by shooting 50.0 percent in the second half. The Warriors, who committed nine first half turnovers, limited themselves to just three miscues in the second half while the Blackhawks committed 22 turnovers in total on the night. Bayless and Freeman both collected three steals in the win.
The upcoming district title game will be the Warriors' eighth shot at an automatic berth in the last nine seasons. The Warriors fell to Dawson in last year's title game, a 68-67 defeat that kept the Warriors out of the national tournament.
Tickets for the NJCAA North Central District Championship will go on sale Monday afternoon.
Saturday night's game also served as Coaches vs. Cancer Night where both teams came together to help raise money and awareness for cancer research. Between the two programs, $5,000 was raised that will be donated directly to the American Cancer Society.
WELL EARNED! Your 2022 Region XI Division I Men's Basketball Champions… No. 6-rated @ihccbasketball! The Warriors (26-5) will host next Saturday's North Central District title game with a berth to the @NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, KS on the line.#WarriorNation pic.twitter.com/dWZ6APJzBR
— IHCC Athletics (@IHCCAthletics) February 27, 2022
