West Burlington, IA – No. 7 Indian Hills Men's Basketball erased a 12-point halftime deficit and knocked off No. 18 Southeastern Community College on the road Saturday night. The Warriors improve to 17-2 overall on the year.
Saturday night's thriller marked the first Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) contest of the year for both nationally ranked squads in the premiere junior college men's basketball rivalry. The two teams were meeting as nationally ranked teams for the fourth consecutive contest, and the Warriors came away with the win after erasing multiple double-digit deficits.
Sophomore Don McHenry (Milwaukee, WI/Hawaii-Hilo) led the way with a team-high 19 points for the Warriors, including a pair of big-time three-point shots down the stretch to carry the Warriors. Sophomore Truth Harris (Mount Vernon, NY/Pensacola) poured in 17 points and is now averaging 21.3 points per game over his last four contests.
After connecting on just one of its first 12 three-point shots in the first half, the Warriors bounced back in the second half to go 7-15 from beyond the arc as both Harris and McHenry knocked down three three-point shots each on the night. In a matchup of two of the top defenses in the country, the Warriors limited the Blackhawks to just 28.8 percent shooting from the floor and 29.2 from three-point range.
The Warriors entered Saturday night's matchup after winning two of three contests over the Blackhawks last year, including the 2022 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XI title game. Indian Hills jumped out to a quick 4-0 advantage, but the Blackhawks quickly regrouped to take the lead. Southeastern eventually built its margin to double-digits and went into halftime on top of the Warriors 32-20.
Facing the double-digit deficit, Indian Hills made an immediate impact on both ends of the court to open the second half. The Warrior defense forced a pair of quick turnovers and Davontae Hall (Chicago, IL/Hyde Park) and McHenry each knocked down a three-point shot to spark the seventh-ranked team in the nation.
As the Warriors slowly battled back, Harris drained back-to-back three-point shots to tie the game at 46-all midway through the final half. After a basket from the Blackhawks, McHenry connected on another three from the right side for the Warriors' first lead since the early goings of the first half. Indian Hills would maintain the lead for the remainder of the game as McHenry added another three and a late bucket from Trevion LaBeaux (Waterloo, IA/Ames) secured the victory.
YES SIR Don McHenry‼️��
— GoHillsTV (@GoHillsTv) January 15, 2023
A Morgan's Corner 3-Pointer brings the score to 56-48! Warriors lead over the Blackhawks with about 5 minutes to go in the ball game! pic.twitter.com/o8tPrZ4ORV
Indian Hills, who ranks fourth nationally in opponents' field goal percentage, received a strong defensive showing from sophomore Leeroy Odiahi (Tralee, Ireland/George Harris) who made a series of stops in the closing minutes of the contest
The Warriors are now 4-1 overall on the year vs. nationally ranked opponents.
Saturday's game marked another memorable matchup in this historic rivalry. The Warriors are now 62-40 vs. Southeastern since the 1989-90 season while the Blackhawks lead the all-time tilt 76-63, a series dating back to 1964. Over the teams' last 129 contests, the total margin of points is separated by just 12, 9,647-9,635 in favor of Indian Hills.
The Warriors will add another nationally ranked matchup to its resume on Wednesday night as Indian Hills heads to No. 23 Triton College (IL) in River Grove, IL. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM.
As always, GoHillsTV provides free live broadcasts of Indian Hills sporting events, both home and on the road. Fans can tune in a number of ways to this weekend's matchup:
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