Men's Basketball

PREVIEW: NO. 7 IHCC, NO. 18 SOUTHEASTERN

PREVIEW: NO. 7 IHCC, NO. 18 SOUTHEASTERN
Posted: Jan 12, 2023

West Burlington, IA – Two nationally ranked programs are set to square off in one of the biggest junior college basketball rivalries in the nation. No. 7 Indian Hills will travel to No. 18 Southeastern Community College for the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) clash.

DETAILS: No. 7 Indian Hills vs. No. 18 Southeastern

Saturday, January 14  |  7:00 PM

West Burlington, IA  |  Loren Walker Arena

WATCH LIVE: GoHillsTV

TICKETS: $8.00 - SCC Ticket Office

Two of the premiere junior college teams in the nation year in and year out will match up for the first time this season as both Indian Hills and Southeastern begin their conference schedule.

SETTING THE STAGE

The Warriors head into Saturday's contest with a 16-2 overall record on the year after scoring a 98-76 victory over Kansas City Kansas Community College on January 7. The Blackhawks climbed to No. 18 in this week's national poll and are 16-3 overall on the year and have won 10 games in a row.

WARRIOR NOTES

  • Don McHenry leads three individuals in double-figures with a team-high 12.8 points per game this year.
  • Eight different individuals have led the Warriors in scoring in the team's 18 games this year. Freshman Davontae Hall and sophomore Ryan Myers both poured in a career-high last game with 23 points apiece against Kansas City Kansas.
  • Sophomore David Jones is averaging 10.2 rebounds/game over his last six contests, including 3.5 offensive rebounds/game.
  • Indian Hills connected on a season-high 16 three-point shots against Kansas City Kansas while connecting on 55.2 percent of its attempts.
  • The Warriors rank in the top 10 in the nation in a multitude of categories:
    • 36.9 percent opponent's FG percentage – 4th
    • Defensive rebounds/game – 7th
    • Three-point FG made/game – 8th
    • Free throw percentage – 10th
  • The Warriors have used 10 different starting lineup combinations this year with 13 different individuals making at least 1 start.

ROAD WARRIORS

The Warriors will make the 78-mile trek down to West Burlington, IA on Saturday with a perfect 4-0 record in true road games this year.

  • The Warriors are 11-0 in the team's last 11 true road games and have not lost on the road since April 10, 2021.
  • In the team's last 11 road contests, the Warriors are outscoring their opponents by an average of 15.8 points per game, including five games by at least 20 points.
  • The Warriors have won four consecutive games on the road vs. nationally ranked opponents dating back to last season. Those four contests have been separated by a total of 12 points.
  • Indian Hills has won seven of the last 10 matchups at Loren Walker Arena.

LAST TIME OUT

The three game series during the 2021-22 season saw the Warriors take the set with an 85-72 victory to win the NJCAA Region XI Championship on February 26. The first two contests, separated by a total of just one point, saw both sides win on the opposition's home court.

Sophomore Enoch Kalambay, who caught fire midway through his freshman campaign last year, scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the Warriors' title-clinching victory. Kalambay reached double-figures in all three games vs. the Blackhawks last year.

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday's game will be the fourth consecutive meeting where both teams are nationally ranked in this historic junior college rivalry.

  • The Warriors took two out of three from the Blackhawks last year and now own a 61-40 advantage over the Blackhawks since the 1989-90 season. Southeastern leads the all-time series 75-63.
  • Since the 1971-72 season, a span of 128 contests, the scoring margin between the two teams is separated by just nine total points, a 9,588 – 9,579 margin in favor of the Warriors.
  • The Warriors are 5-3 all-time in one-point games after last year's 67-66 thriller that saw Braxton Bayless drain a three-point shot at the buzzer in West Burlington to give the Warriors the win.
  • The first-ever matchup between the two programs came in 1964 at the Region Tournament.

NOTABLE GAMES

  • February 5, 2022 - Indian Hills 67, Southeastern 66
    • Braxton Bayless cemented his name in the record books in this historic rivalry as the sophomore banked home a 35-foot runner at the buzzer to give the Warriors the one-point victory. Sophomore J'Vonne Hadley, who provided the game-winning assist, added a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
  • 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.

SCOUTING THE BLACKHAWKS

The Blackhawks have been on a roll since losing two games in a row in November. The Blackhawks have rattled off 10 consecutive wins by an average of 16.7 points per game.

  • Sophomore Davion Bailey has started all 19 contests and leads the way for the Blackhawks with 15.1 points per game. The guard is shooting 52.2 percent from the floor and 46.9 percent from three-point range.
  • Sophomore Jack Wetzel is shooting 45.7 percent from three-point range and ranks second on the team with 13.2 points per game. Wetzel has hit at least four three-point shots in eight games this year.
  • As a team, the Blackhawks rank fifth in the nation with a 41.0 percent clip from three-point range. Southeastern is shooting nearly 17 three-point shots a contest.
  • Defensively, Southeastern ranks sixth in the nation in opponents' field goal percentage with a 37.1 percent mark.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Warriors, who boast one of the toughest schedules in the nation, continues its road slate on January 18 with a trip to No. 23 nationally ranked Triton College (IL) in River Grove, IL. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM from the Collins Center.

As always, GoHillsTV provides free live broadcasts of Indian Hills sporting events, both home and on the road. Fans can tune in a number of ways to this weekend's matchup:

  • 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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