Ottumwa, IA – No. 14 Indian Hills Men's Basketball knocked off No. 3 Vincennes University (IN) in an overtime thriller at the Hellyer Center on Friday night. The Warriors dropped the Trailblazers 80-75 on the opening night of the Reed Overhead Doors Classic.
The Warriors (8-3) avenged an early season defeat to the Trailblazers to hand Vincennes (10-1) its first loss of the season. Indian Hills, which suffered an 86-76 loss to then-No. 5 Vincennes on November 18, outscored the Trailblazers 11-6 in the five-minute extra session, the team's first overtime contest of the year.
Four players scored in double-figures to pace the offense, led by sophomore Davontae Hall's season-high 17 points, including a team-high five in the overtime period. The guard connected on three three-point shots while filling the stat sheet with four rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Hall played in 41 of a possible 45 minutes for the Warriors.
Kheni Briggs (Kannapolis, NC/Charleston Southern) tallied 16 points on the night, his eighth double-digit scoring effort of the year. Briggs, who has scored in double-digits in five of the last six contests, also pulled in a game-high nine rebounds for the Warriors.
Braden Sparks (Villa Rica, GA/Mercer) added 16 for the Warriors, including four in overtime. The sophomore guard finished the night a perfect 10-10 at the free throw line.
The reigning Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Athlete of the Week, Trevion LaBeaux (Waterloo, IA/Ames) tallied 14 points along with five rebounds to aid in the win for the Warriors.
Trevion LaBeaux, ROCKIN' Hellyer‼️
— GoHillsTV (@GoHillsTv) December 9, 2023
Warriors lead 59-48 over the Trailblazers with 1️⃣1️⃣:3️⃣7️⃣ remaining in the second half! pic.twitter.com/cmzYgmQQjv
As a team, Indian Hills connected on a season-best 77.8 percent of its free throw attempts, going 21-27 from the charity stripe. Vincennes, who was shooting better than 35.0 percent from three-point range entering Friday night, was held to just 22.2 percent (6-27) from beyond the arc.
Indian Hills came out with a ferocious start to open Friday's nationally ranked matchup as the Warriors built a quick 15-4 lead at the 14:43 mark on a David Hermes (Stockholm, Sweden/Central Pointe) three-point shot. The Warriors maintained its double-digit advantage for a majority of the first half, leading by as many as 15. A three in the closing minute of the opening half from Hall gave Indian Hills a 41-31 edge heading into the locker room.
Indian Hills continued its pace to open the second half before the Trailblazers cut into the deficit, pulling within five with under seven to play. A late surge saw the visitors take its first lead of the night, 67-65 at the 2:48 mark. The two sides exchanged leads, but a pair of free throws from Sparks at the 1:02 mark proved to be the final scoring of regulation as both sides went to overtime deadlocked at 69.
Sparks provided a quick jolt into the offense with the first bucket of the overtime period. A three from Hall extended the lead 74-69, but the Trailblazers stayed within striking distance. A layup from Chris Mpaka gave Indian Hills a 76-73 advantage and the Warriors held the Trailblazers to just one field goal over the final 3:05 of action to pull away for the victory.
The Warriors have now recorded a win over a top-five nationally ranked team in each of the last five seasons, with the exception of the 2020-21 COVID-19 season. Indian Hills has scored a victory over a top-three nationally ranked opponent in three consecutive seasons now.
The Warriors return to action on the final day of the Reed Overhead Doors Classic on Saturday night. Indian Hills will take on the College of Southern Idaho at 7:00 PM, following the opening game between Vincennes and Sauk Valley Community College (IL). Southern Idaho defeated Sauk Valley 93-87 on Friday afternoon.
Purchase tickets to Saturday's matchup here: INDIAN HILLS VS. SOUTHERN IDAHO
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