Ottumwa, IA –A late rally from the No. 5 nationally ranked Indian Hills Men's Basketball team fell short as the Warriors dropped a 93-88 contest to No. 3 Snow College (UT) at the Hellyer Center. The Warriors drop to 11-4 overall on the year.
In a premiere matchup of two of the nations' top programs, the Warriors erased a 15-point halftime deficit to take a late lead in the closing minutes of the second half. The Badgers (12-1) scored seven of the final nine points of the contest to escape with a win on the opening night of the Financial Partners Classic.
Sophomore Kayden Nation (Peoria, IL/Western Nebraska) led the Warrior offense with a team-high 17 points. Nation connected on his first four three-point shots of the night, including a pair in the second half to spark the rally. Sophomore William Beugre-Kassi (Pontoise, France/Albert Thomas) added 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Kayden Nation is feelin' it ��
— Indian Hills Basketball (@ihccbasketball) December 14, 2024
Nation's up to 17 on 4-4 from beyond the arc.@GoHillsTv | #WarriorNation pic.twitter.com/WdeQyfw1Vg
Amonte Allen-Johnson (Flint, MI/Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) came off the bench to score 12 points while Trenton Walters (Frisco, TX/Radford) chipped in 10 for the Warriors.
The Warriors shot 55.8 percent from the floor on the night, including a 47-4 percent clip from three-point range. The valiant second half comeback was due in large part to the Warriors committing just one turnover over the final 20 minutes of play.
Both sides scored 22 points off turnovers on the night while the Warriors once again relied heavily on its well-balanced attack with 46 points from their reserves.
In a game that saw five ties and four lead changes, Snow jumped out to an early 14-6 lead and eventually built the margin to double-digits midway through the half. Four straight from Nation brought the Warriors within three, 28-25, but the Badgers pulled ahead to take a 51-36 lead at the intermission.
Snow took its largest lead of the night in the opening minute of the second half before the Warriors quietly chipped away at the deficit. Trailing by just seven with under 13 to play, Nation buried a deep three-point shot to cut the Snow lead to four, 64-60.
Quinton Perkins II (Dallas, TX/Tarleton State) tied the ballgame at 70-all with a steal and breakaway basket at the 8:37 mark as the two sides traded blows the rest of the way. Perkins connected on a three at the 4:53 mark to even the score once again at 82. Kassi connected on a lay-in at the with under four to go to give Indian Hills an 85-82 lead, but the Warriors managed just one field goal over the final 3:39 of play as Snow pulled out the win in Friday's heavyweight matchup.
The Warriors are back in action on day two of the Financial Partners Classic on Saturday with a 7:00 PM matchup vs. Kankakee Community College (IL). Snow wraps up its trip to Ottumwa with a 4:30 PM matchup vs. Lake Region State College (ND).
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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