Ottumwa, IA – No. 13 Indian Hills Men's Basketball capped an undefeated conference season with a 78-69 victory over Southeastern Community College on Saturday night at the Hellyer Center. The Warriors move to 23-5 overall and finish the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) regular season slate at 4-0.
Sophomore Davontae Hall (Chicago, IL/Hyde Park) poured in a team-high 19 points, including 16 in the second half to give the Warriors the regular season sweep over the Blackhawks. The victory clinched the regular season ICCAC title as Indian Hills has now earned the right to host the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 11 DI Men's Basketball Championship at the Hellyer Center on March 9. The Warriors have now won at least a share of 16 consecutive ICCAC regular season titles, including 13 outright championships during the stretch.
Will Kassi in the lane ��@GohillsTV | #WarriorNation pic.twitter.com/j1Aq0SM7I4
— Indian Hills Basketball (@ihccbasketball) February 25, 2024
The Warriors used a 16-2 run late in the first half to run past the Blackhawks as Indian Hills held a seven point margin at halftime. Indian Hills held off a late push from Southeastern as Hall connected on eight free throws in the final 1:12 of play, including six in the closing 12 seconds to seal the victory and secure home court advantage for postseason play.
Hall was joined in double-figures by Braden Sparks (Villa Rica, GA/Mercer) who tallied 14 points and TJ Morris (Queens, NY/Northeastern Oklahoma A&M) who added 10 points. Sophomore Chris Mpaka (Kinsasha, Congo/Frank Phillips) led the Warriors with a team-high 12 rebounds to go along with nine points.
Indian Hills connected on 47.1 percent of its three-point shots on the night, going 8-17 from beyond the arc. The Warrior defense forced 14 Blackhawk turnovers which led to 21 points.
Morris aided the Warrior win in nearly every facet of the game on Saturday night. The sophomore guard tallied a team-high six assists to go along with six rebounds, three blocked shots, and a steal. Morris has now scored in double-figures in six consecutive games, averaging 13.0 points per game during the stretch.
Southeastern opened the night on a 7-0 run as the visiting team held the Warriors without a field goal for the first 3:39 of action. The Blackhawks maintained their lead until the 10:23 mark of the first half as Morris connected on a three for a 13-11 Indian Hills lead. The two sides exchanged leads until Southeastern put together a brief 8-2 run for a 22-15 advantage. Amarion Nimmers (Rock Island, IL/Iowa) sparked the offense late in the first half with five points on back-to-back possessions as the Warriors closed out the half scoring the final 11 points for a 31-24 edge.
Indian Hills pushed its lead to double-digits early on in the second half behind a pair of three-point shots from Hall and Sparks. The Warriors held on to a comfortable lead for a majority of the half until Southeastern clawed back to within three with less than six minutes to play. The Warrior defense clamped down in the closing minutes with a series of forced turnovers combined with an efficient performance from the charity stripe to close out the league win.
The Warriors have now won seven consecutive contests and are 6-1 over the team's last seven outings vs. Southeastern.
Indian Hills will now see a quick turnaround with a Monday night date at the Hellyer Center against McCook Community College (NE). The Warriors dropped the Indians 109-100 back in the season opener in November. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM.
Purchase your tickets in advance for Monday's matchup: INDIAN HILLS VS. MCCOOK
HOW TO WATCH
As always, GoHillsTV provides free live broadcasts of Indian Hills men's basketball games, both home and on the road. Fans can tune in a number of ways all season long:
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- Website: https://www.gohillstv.com/browse to catch all live and archived information
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