Ottumwa, IA – The No. 5 nationally ranked Indian Hills Men's Basketball team returns to the Hellyer Center for the three-day Financial Partners Classic, including a top-five matchup.

DETAILS: Financial Partners Classic

Friday, December 13 – Sunday, December 15

Ottumwa, IA  |  Hellyer Center

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Live Stats, Results, Box Scores, Streaming

TOURNAMENT PROGRAM: Financial Partners Classic

WATCH LIVE: GoHillsTV

TICKETS: Buy Online

STARTING FIVE

• Indian Hills held strong at No. 5 in the nation in this week's NJCAA poll while climbing to No. 3 in the JUCOAdvocate Media Poll.
  • NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Poll   |   JUCOAdvocate Media Poll
• Following three wins last week, including two on the road, head coach Cole Dewey was named the HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week.
  • Read More: Dewey Named HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week
• Making his return to the lineup for the first time in 20 days, Amonte Allen-Johnson was named the ICCAC Athlete of the Week.
  • Read more: Allen-Johnson Named ICCAC Athlete of the Week
• Indian Hills ranks seventh in the nation in total points on the year with 1,195, an average of 85.4 PPG.
• The Warriors will be facing an opponent from the eighth different state when Snow (UT) comes to town.
  • Kansas, Texas, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota

LAST TIME OUT

The Warriors capped an impressive week with two road wins in Levelland, TX at the Texan Classic, hosted by South Plains College.

• The Warriors dropped the preseason-No. 1 ranked Texans 94-88 after erasing a 17-point deficit.
  • Sophomore Abdoulaye Fall posted a season-high 24 points while Tayshawn Bridges added 21 points on 9-13 shooting for the Warriors.
• Indian Hills followed up with a come-from-behind win over No. 18 Frank Phillips, knocking off the Plainsmen 76-62.
  • Trenton Walters became the seventh different player to lead the Warriors in scoring this year with a team-high 17 points.

HELLYER MAGIC

The Hellyer Center has been home to a number of premiere nationally ranked matchups throughout the years.

• The Warriors are 4-1 over the team's last five matchups at home vs. top-five nationally ranked teams. In all five matchups, the Warriors have been the lower-ranked team.
  • March 2, 2024  |  #13 IHCC 93, #3 Triton 72
  • December 8, 2023  |  #14 IHCC 80, #3 Vincennes 75
  • December 1, 2023  |  #2 South Plains 74, #11 IHCC 68
  • November 16, 2022  |  #2 IHCC 108, #1 Northwest Florida 99
  • November 2, 2019  |  #6 IHCC 72, #4 John A. Logan 63

SCOUTING THE BADGERS

One of the top teams in the nation to open the 2024-25 campaign, the Badgers head to Ottumwa with an 11-1 record.

• Friday night's matchup will be the first all-time meeting between the two programs separated by 1,237 miles.
• Members of the Scenic West Conference and NJCAA Region 18, the Badgers have won four in a row after dropping their lone contest of the year on November 21, a 77-70 defeat to Midland College (TX).
• Snow held steady at No. 3 in this week's NJCAA DI Men's Basketball poll and checked in at No. 5 in the JUCOAdvocate Media Poll.
• Isaac Finlinson leads the Badgers with 16.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
• McCaden Adams and Mark Brown Jr. are scoring in double-figures with 14.1 points per game apiece.
• The Badgers rank third in the naton with a 54.3 FG percentage and 11th nationally with a 75.7 FT percentage.
• Snow has scored 100 points in a game four times this year, including twice in the team's last two games.

SCOUTING THE CAVALIERS

The Cavaliers (5-3) opened the year with four consecutive wins before dropping three straight. Kankakee will be making their ninth trip to the Hellyer Center in the last 12 seasons.

• Khylan McKennie leads three players in double-figures with a team-high 11.8 PPG.
• Joshua Ray leads the defense for the Cavaliers with team-highs of 5.7 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game.
• As a team, the Cavaliers rank eighth in the nation with a 75.9 FT percentage. 
• Indian Hills is 12-0 all-time vs. Kankakee, with its first matchup in 2006 and the most recent outing on January 24, 2024, an 84-73 road win for the Warriors.

SCOUTING THE ROYALS

Lake Region St. (7-6) jumped out to a 5-1 start on the year, but are just 1-3 over their last four contests.

• Freshman Poet Davis leads the Royals with a team-high 16.5 PPG while adding 5.3 RPG and 3.4 APG.
• Ginuwine Tropnas (8.7 RPG) and Akok Ajou (8.2 RPG) power the Royals on the glass, a team that ranks in the top-30 in the nation in total rebounds per game.
• Indian Hills is 10-0 all-time vs. the Royals with all 10 matchups at the Hellyer Center. The two sides first met in the season opener in 1990 and most recently squared off in Ottumwa on December 9, 2022, an 89-48 win for the Warriors.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Warriors will welcome a 20-day layoff for the holiday break before returning to the Hellyer Center to take on Wabash Valley Community College (IL) at 7:00 PM on January 4. The Warriors previous defeated Wabash Valley this year 93-60 in Mount Carmel, IL.

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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