Ottumwa, IA – The No. 11 nationally ranked Indian Hills Men's Basketball squad opened up the 2024-25 campaign with a dominant 82-64 win over Cloud County Community College (KS) on the first night of the Meridian Credit Union Classic at the Hellyer Center.
Head coach Cole Dewey picked up his first-career win in his debut with the Warriors to extend Indian Hills' season-opening home winning streak to 39 consecutive years. The Warriors, who led from start-to-finish on the night, were led by an impressive performance from sophomore William Beugre-Kassi (Pontoise, France/Albert Thomas) who tallied his first-career double-double with 27 points and 11 rebounds, both game-high totals.
The Warriors used a quick start to jump out on top of the Thunderbirsd as Kassi tallied five points in the opening five minutes to give Indian Hills a commanding 11-2 lead early on. The Warriors maintained a comfortable advantage through the remainder of the first-half after forcing 10 Cloud County turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play. Indian Hills took a 44-35 lead into the halftime break.
The Thunderbirds used a fast start to open up the second half, pulling within four, but a Kayden Nation (Peoria, IL/Western Nebraska) three-pointer at the 13:19 kickstarted a tenacious run for the Warriors. Leading 60-56 with under 10 to play, the Warriors went on a 15-2 run to push the lead back to double-digits. Indian Hills closed out the game scoring 22 of the final 30 points to run away with the victory.
Kassi was dominant in his sophomore debut for the Warriors. The second-year standout connected on 10-13 shots on the night, including 2-3 from three-point range to boast his best individual performance of his Indian Hills career. Nine of Kassi's 11 rebounds came on the offensive glass as the Warriors produced 15 second-chance points on the night.
Welcome to the Hellyer Center, AT Manyuon��
— Indian Hills Basketball (@ihccbasketball) November 2, 2024
Manyuon's got the home crowd rockin' - Warriors up 44-35 at the break.#WarriorNation | @GoHillsTv pic.twitter.com/MtLlVAzfDq
Joining Kassi in double-figures was sophomore Trenton Walters (Frisco, TX/Radford) with 19 points to go along with a team-high five assists. Walters scored 13 of his points in the second half alone to pace the Warriors over the final 20 minutes of action.
Amonte Allen-Johnson (Flint, MI/Texas A&M - Corpus Christi) chipped in 12 points for the Warriors on 4-6 shooting while Nation added nine points in the win for the Warriors.
As a team, the Warriors shot 50.9 percent from the floor on the night. Indian Hills forced 24 Cloud County turnovers, turning the Thunderbird miscues into 20 points. Indian Hils found success from close-range, outscoring Cloud County 46-30 in the paint.
The Warriors return to action Saturday night for the final night of the Meridian Credit Union Classic with a 7:00 PM date vs. Butler Community College (KS). The Grizzlies defeated Sauk Valley Community College (IL) in the opening game Friday night, 91-57.
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:
- 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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